Foster care
by Iluvbeyblade
Summary: Ray is a ten year old Chinese boy with abusive foster parents. What happens when a new boy comes to live with them? And once the fallout clears, how do the boys learn to cope with what has been done to them? KaiRay in later chapters. Much later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Okay, this is just a random idea that I came up with.

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"You stupid, lazy little brat!" Ray flinched as he was struck round the face. His head snapped back and he tasted blood. Suddenly, everything seemed to burst out of him.

"I'm not stupid, I'm dyslexic!" he yelled back at his tormentor. "You know that!" Struggling for words, he gave up and switched to Chinese. "You are the one that's stupid! Not me! You should be in prison for hitting me!"

"No Chinese!" Another slap accompanied the harsh order. Ray spat, unable to verbalise his rage in any other way. There was an audible gasp, and Ray drew back, eyes widening in fear. He had gone too far. Much too far. As he cringed to the floor, mumbling apologies, he heard the woman who was hitting him being drawn aside.

"Calm down, darling. Remember, the social worker will be coming in only a few days. We don't want him marked, now do we?" The drunken woman slowly shook her head, shooting Ray a look of pure hatred. Ray kept his head bowed, not daring to look at his foster parents. He could feel his body trembling, a reaction to the shock of being hit. "Ray?"

"Yes, Shane?" He kept his eyes on the floor.

"You can go to bed now." The edge to his foster father's voice said that, despite the polite phrasing, this was not an option. Mumbling a hurried goodnight, Ray fled upstairs and flung himself face-first onto his bed, sobbing into the pillow. The scene of his drunk foster mother ripping up his school report and flinging the pieces into the bin replayed themselves over and over again in his mind's eye. She hadn't seen his outstanding marks in Art, PE and Music, she had just turned straight to English and Maths, which had shown, as usual, **F**and gone nuts. He let out a broken sob, then wiped his eyes and began to silently prepare himself for the social worker's visit in a few days, where he would have to pretend that everything was brilliant. That he wasn't hit daily by both of his "carers", that he wasn't picked on in school for writing back-to-front, that his life was excellent. Excellent enough for Shane and Naomi to foster another child.

"It's not fair..." he mumbled drowsily. "I'm only ten...I shouldn't need to do this..." His voice faded as he dropped into sleep.

"Why, Sallie, so nice to see you again!" Naomi beamed, her smile open and welcoming. Only Ray, standing behind her, could see how her hands were shaking. He smirked. Naomi had been stone-cold sober for just over three days now, and she was hating every minute of it. He gave his social worker a shy nod as she walked past him into the lounge and sat down on the dark-red sofa, the one that Ray had been hit round the head with a chair leg when he attempted to sit on.

"Hi, Ray!" Sallie smiled at him, her blue eyes friendly.

"Hi..." Ray shuffled his feet. He had always found that it was easier to act shy when anyone came round. It gave him an excuse to look questioningly up at Naomi or Shane, when in reality he was checking to se if what he was doing would get him a beating later on.

"How's school?" Sallie asked. Ray grinned bashfully.

"S'okay. I got an F for English and Maths, though." Sallie pulled a face.

"Never mind. It can't be helped, can it?" she asked cheerfully. Ray shook his head. "Anything else?" This time, Ray's grin was real. He had been dying to share this information with somebody.

"I got an A in Art, a B+ in PE, and..." He trailed off, grinning widely. Sallie grinned back at him.

"And? Come on, the suspense is killing me!" she joked.

"I got an A in Music!" he said in a rush. Sallie's face lit up.

"Oh, that's wonderful, Ray!" she exclaimed, holding out her arms. Without a seconds hesitation, Ray flung himself at her, burying his head in her ample chest. "I'm really proud of you, sweetie!" Sallie told him, her voice jubilant. "What did I tell you, huh?" He grinned and sat up on her lap. Naomi stepped forwards.

"Ray, darling, could you go outside while Shane and I have a chat with Sallie?" Reluctuantly, Ray began to walk out of the room.

"Wait, Ray." Sallie turned to look at Naomi, her face serious. "I think that it would be a good idea for Ray to stay. After all, the sooner the two of them get to know each other the better, hm?" Clearly much against her will, Naomi nodded, sweeping her strawberry-blonde hair out of her dull hazel eyes. She reached out and sat down, pulling Ray down next to her. Ray sat very still, trying not to wriggle or do anything that might attract her attention. He only half-listened as Sallie began to talk about the child that they would be fostering. A boy, eleven years old, with slight behavioural problems... He yawned despite himself, waking up in an instant as Naomi pinched him sharply on the inside of his wrist. Sallie leaned towards the door.

"Kai!" she called loudly. "Come in!" The lounge door was opened loudly and a boy stood there, arms folded definantly.

"Hello, Kai." Naomi plastered a wide smile on her face. Ray inched away from her carefully. Kai's eyes flicked to her, but he said nothing.

"Kai..." Sallie prompted. Kai rolled his eyes.

"Naomi." He nodded his head stiffly at her, sounding bored. Ray studied him carefully.

His hair was spiked up with at least as much gel as Ray used, and appeared to be two different colours. The front part was grey, while the back part was dark-blue. It was _really_ weird. Ray blinked, and kept on staring.

His eyes were a deep, dark red, like blood. His skin was pale, and his cheeks were covered with four triangle tattoos, two to each cheek. At eleven, he already had visible muscles, and was wearing a tight grey T-shirt with navy tracksuit bottoms which empathised this fact.

Suddenly, he noticed that Ray was staring at him. With snake-like quickness, his eyes locked with Ray's. They held each other's gaze for what seemed like an eternity, then both dropped their eyes at the same time.

Sallie stood up and gave the two boys an approving look.

"I see you two are already sizing each other up!" She laughed softly. "Well, I'd better get going. See you both later, yeah?"

"Bye, Sallie!" Ray called.

"Later." Kai said quietly. Sallie gave them a quick smile and left, shutting the door behind her. Ray tensed up, waiting, as he knew Naomi was, for the second that the front door slammed shut. The slam came, and Naomi got up and went to the drinks cabinet, with an absent-minded command for Ray to show Kai around the house. Uncertainly, Ray got up and motioned for Kai to follow him.

"Okay," he whispered, double-checking that there was no one around. "These are the only rules you'll ever need to know, okay?"

"You said okay twice." Kai pointed out matter-of-factly.

"Hey, I'm nervous!" Ray grumbled. "Right. Never go near Naomi after she's drunk more than three bottles, two if it's vodka. She starts hitting you for no reason, and she isn't too fussy about leaving marks. Shane..." He shivered despite himself, bad memories rushing up in a wave. He swayed, feeling an arm clasp his shoulder and steady him.

"You all right...Ray, isn't it?" Ray nodded briefly, cursing himself for losing control.

"I'm fine. Anyway, Shane hits for fun. He knows about leaving the marks, so he'll swing stuff at your back or your head." Kai nodded, apparently taking all this in, the slight twist of his lips indicating his disgust.

"They sound like a right pair of twats." he said flatly. Ray checked the hallway anxiously yet again, before nodding in feverent agreement.

"'Specially Shane. He's a..._za zhong_...Sorry, I don't know the English..." He flushed with embarressment and trailed off. "It's like...dog...y'know...girl dog...girl dog with puppies..."

"Son of a bitch?" Kai suggested. Ray grinned nervously and nodded again.

"Yeah, that's it." Kai nodded in reply, a faint, barely visible smile appearing on his lips. Ray hesitated again, then smiled back.

"Gary, would you stop kicking the back of Ray's chair, please?" the teacher asked, annoyed. Ray felt something nudging his elbow. Against his better judgement, he took the small piece of paper and unfolded it.

Coward Chinky thicko!

He sighed and refolded the note, putting it in his trouser pocket along with the others that he recieved pretty much constantly, and tried to pay attention to the lesson.

At break, the older boys all crowded round Kai, sizing him up. As Ray walked nearer, hoping that Kai wasn't getting into trouble, one of them spotted him.

"Hello, Ray!" he said loudly. Ray mumbled a greeting and tried to shrink away. "Remind me, Ray, do you sunbathe a _lot_, or is your skin just like that naturally?"

"If your face is like that naturally, I can't see what you're teasing Ray for." Kai said coolly. The boy swung round.

"Are you insulting me?" he demanded.

"Ooh, ugly _and_ stupid." Kai murmured, not even looking at the boy. "Should I be running yet?"

"Oy, watch your mouth, you-"

"You threatening me?" Kai's voice was deadly quiet. Ray watched, fascinated. "Because I could tell you that would be a very bad idea. But then, if you were as clever as you seem to think you are, you wouldn't've opened your mouth in the first place." The boy swore loudly and aimed a punch straight for Kai's face. Kai caught the fist easily and twisted it to one side. Amazingly, his eyes were still closed. The boy backed off, clutching his throbbing wrist and struggling not to blub. Kai opened his eyes and gave the boy a long, hard stare. "You mess with Ray, you mess with me. Understood?" He didn't raise his voice, he didn't need to. The crowd disappeared without a second thought. Ray walked nervously up to Kai.

"Kai...I...that was...thank you." he said at last. Kai gave him another quick smile.

"Don't mention it." Ray grinned.

"_Tong zhou gong ji_." he said softly. "It means, "stick together through thick and thin."" Kai nodded and grinned back.

Three hours later, outside the school's main doors, Kai and Ray were leaning on the wall, Kai patiently taking Ray through the maths homework. A large crowd of boys pushed past, nearly pushing Ray over. Suddenly, Kai spun round and grabbed another eleven year-old by his collar. "What did you just call me?" His voice was icy, with promises of violence quivering in it. The boy pressed his lips shut. "Come on," Kai muttered, tightening his grip.

"You're-a-poufder!" the boy choked out. Kai's face went blank.

"Right." he said softly. Three seconds later, everyone was running for a teacher as Kai slammed the boy's head into the brick wall as hard as he could, still with that strange, blank look on his face. Ray gasped in horror as he noticed a trickle of blood running down the side of the boy's face.

"Kai, stop it! You're hurting him!"

"That's the idea." In desperation, Ray grabbed hold of Kai's arm and held tightly. "Kai, please stop it, please-" His English gave way and he started saying the same thing in Chinese. As suddenly as he had started it, Kai dropped the half-conscious boy and turned away, fists clenched. He started walking home, so fast that Ray had to jog to keep up. Ray bit his lip, knowing that the punishment would fall on him.

"Bend over." Shane's voice was cold. Ray obeyed, placing his palms flat on the floor to help him keep his balance. Shane roughly pulled his school shirt off and ran a finger down Ray's spine. Ray shivered at the touch, then bit his lip until blood dribbled down his chin as Shane's belt-buckle landed on his back with incredible force.

"Stupid, disobedient boy!" White-hot pain blazed through the resigned ten year-old.

Ray woke from a restless, disturbed sleep, caused by having to sleep on his stomach. He listened carefully, wondering what had woken him. Faint moans were coming from the room across the hallway, where Kai slept. Wincing at the pain in his back, Ray got up. He needed to make Kai be quiet. Naomi wouldn't care about Sallie or the possibility that he would tell someone in school, if she was woken up, she would hit him, and hit him _hard_.

The moaning grew louder as Ray gently pushed open the door. With a fearful look towards Shane and Naomi's bedroom, he quickly pulled the door shut. He turned to the bed. Kai was writhing around on the mattress, the duvet lying in a crumpled heap on the floor. Sweat had stuck his hair to his face and he was moaning incessantly. If Ray listened carefully, he could make out words.

"No...don't...please...please...it wasn't my fault - argh!" He jerked as if he had been struck, letting out a cry of pain, his eyes slowly opening, then closing again. Ray ran over to him, gently shaking his shoulder.

"Kai? Kai, wake up!" he whispered. Kai's eyes flew open. He pulled himself up onto his elbows and looked wildly around the room. "Kai, it's okay." Ray told him softly. "You're safe now." Kai stared at him blankly. Eventually, a spark of recognition lit in his eyes.

"R-Ray?" His voice was unsure and shaking. Ray nodded.

"It's me." he confirmed. "Try and be quiet. We don't want Naomi or Shane coming in here." Kai gave a slow nod. He lay back on the pillow, his breath coming in short gasps. "Are you okay?" Ray asked worriedly. Kai didn't answer immeadiately.

"Ray, could you...oh forget it, what am I thinking..." He trailed off, beginning to shiver violently.

"What?"

"I said forget it!"

"No!" Kai looked at Ray and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"You do have some bite after all!" Ray blinked, unfamiliar with the expression.

"I'm serious, Kai! Tell me!" Kai scowled and rolled to face the opposite direction. "_Kai!" _He bit his lip, shooting a glance back to the door. Kai sighed and rolled back over to face him. Ray couldn't help but gasp. All the toughness was gone from Kai's expression, leaving a vunerable, frightened shell behind. "What is it, Kai?" he asked softly. Kai dropped his eyes, staring fixedly at a point near Ray's feet.

"I was just...wondering...no, this is _stupid_-"

"No, it's not!" Ray said firmly.

"All right then." Kai took a deep breath. "Is it possible...would you...sleep in here, tonight?" Ray blinked in bemusement.

"Why?"

"Because...because I'm scared..." Kai's voice was barely audible. Ray's heart melted, seeing the ashamed, fearful look on Kai's face.

"Of course I will." he whispered. "Do you mean on the floor, or in the bed?" Kai shrugged with difficulty, shivers racking his body.

"Whatever." he mumbled. Ray picked up the duvet from the floor and scrambled onto the bed next to Kai. He fumbled with the heavy material, and managed to get it covering both of them. He lay down, pulling the duvet up to his chin. As he got comfortable his left arm accidentally brushed against Kai's chest. He swore in Chinese.

"Kai, you're freezing!" he whispered loudly. He wriggled round until he was lying stomach to stomach with Kai, then wrapped his arms around him, Kai's shivers vibrating through his body.

"W-What are you doing?" Kai mumbled.

"Trying to warm you up!" Ray told him in a fierce whisper, tightening his grip.

Fifteen minutes later, Kai's violent shivering finally stopped. Ray didn't really want to move, he was starting to get drowsy, and it had been so long since he had been this close to someone who wasn't drunk. He felt Kai's arms creep gingerly round him. He winced, his back still raw and crusted with blood from Shane's belt-buckle.

"Can I see?" Kai asked. He nodded, feeling Kai pull himself up onto one elbow and gently run his fingers over the open welts each with their own little bruise. "I'm really sorry." Kai muttered, laying back down again. "If it hadn't been for me, you wouldn't have got that."

"It don't matter." Ray assured him.

"_Doesn't_." Kai corrected.

"Doesn't." Ray repeated. "I've had worse."

"So've I." Ray looked at Kai, then away. Kai's business was Kai's business, not his. They lay still for another ten minutes, neither of them falling alseep. "Ray?"

"Yes, Kai?"

"If I tell you something, will you listen?"

"Yeah."

"Okay... Ray, do you remember what that boy called me?" Ray racked his brain, finding the unfamiliar word.

"Um...pooder?" he suggested, unsure how to pronounce it. Kai chuckled hoarsely.

"Nearly. Poufder. It means..." He hesitated. Ray stayed silent, knowing that Kai would either tell him or not. "It means...that you like boys." Ray frowned, completely confused.

"Huh? I don't understand... I mean, I like boys, so does everyone...I really don't understand." Kai sighed.

"You know how Naomi and Shane like each other?" Ray nodded. "It's like that, except you like boys, not girls."

"You mean like...kissing?" Kai nodded. Ray pulled a face. "Kissing's disgusting." He paused. "So, do you?" Kai was suddenly very still.

"Do I what?"

"Do you like boys like that?" Kai let out a long sigh.

"I don't know." he said softly. He closed his eyes and began to talk in a flat monotone. "When I was six, my grandfather put his mouth on my..." He gestured downwards. Ray thought hard, racking his brains again.

"Willy?" he offered. Kai nodded stiffly. Ray screwed up his face in disgust. "Why?"

"Because he liked it." Kai said bitterly. "Then, he used to...kiss me...and do...other things..." He stopped, his whole body quivering. Ray held him even tighter, whispering soothing phrases in Chinese.

"Then, when I was eight, a boy got me really angry in school. And I just wanted to hurt him. What my grandfather did hurt, even more than when he flogged me with the bicycle chain, but it hurt _inside._ So, I thought that if I could make him hurt inside, I wouldn't get into so much trouble. So, I kissed him...like my grandfather did to me...pushed him over...and he was screaming-oh God, the screams..." He whimpered like a frightened puppy and tried to curl up. Ray let him, patting him comfortingly.

"It's okay, Kai, I'm here." Kai took a deep breath and carried on, his voice muffled and shaking.

"The teacher dragged me off him and started yelling at me. And I asked her why it wasn't okay for me to do it him, but it was okay for my grandfather to do it, and worse, to me." He let out a long, trembling breath. "Since then, it's just been one big round of social workers, children's homes, and foster parents. No one keeps me for long, they're too afraid for their precious little kiddies." Ray hugged him even harder, hearing the jealous bitterness in Kai's voice.

"Well, that's one thing you don't have to worry about!" he whispered, trying to make a joke out of it. "Those two," he nodded his head towards the door, "couldn't care less what happens to me." Now, _he_ was the one talking bitterly! Kai nodded, giving Ray a sympathetic look. Ray blinked in surprise as he felt Kai's arms close gently around him, avoiding the wounds left by Shane's brutal beating. His eyelids drooped and he yawned widely, lulled by Kai's gentle embrace.

"Go to sleep." Kai murmured, letting Ray's head drop forwards onto his shoulder. "You've got school tomorrow. I'm used to sleepless nights." he added, forestalling the arguement that he knew was coming. His own eyes were heavy, and he let his head rest on top of Ray's, closing his eyes.

"Raymond Xiao-Cheung Kon, get out of there right now!" Naomi's furious voice yelled. Ray opened his eyes and stared blearily up at his foster mother. Naomi reached down and pulled him out by his arm, slapping him hard round the face. Ray stayed silent as she hauled him off to the kitchen to get ready for school, slapping and pinching him the whole time.

He was flung into a chair next to Shane. Shane looked up.

"What's all this?" he asked mildly. Naomi told him. Ray got up and tried to run, terror flooding through him. Shane caught him easily and picked him up by his long hair, holding him right up at his eye level. "How _dare_ you!" Vaguely, Ray saw him pick up the sawn-off chair leg that always stood in the corner, then bright lights exploded behind his eyes and he knew no more.

"Ray! Ray, talk to me!" Kai's panicked voice gradually seeped through Ray's confused mind. With consciousness came the pain. Ray moaned and tried to fall unconscious again as white-hot pain blasted into every inch of his body. "Ray can you open your eyes?" A fierce effort, a slit of colour, then blackness again. He realised that someone was holding his hand. "What has that bastard done to you..." The hand holding his abruptly let go. Ray slipped into a pain-filled doze.

Kai ran into the living room and grabbed Naomi by the arm, shaking her hard.

"Come with me." His voice was quivering with fury. Naomi gave him a wary look and followed him into Ray's bedroom. "Look at what your bastard of a husband did to Ray!"

He had never seen Naomi sober up faster. She let out a faint scream and ran to Ray's side, looking in horror at the blood matting the sheets, Ray's small, crumpled body lying in the middle of the mess.

"He's gone too far this time..." she murmured. Kai watched as she knelt down beside Ray, stroking his limp hand gently, suddenly realising what a good mother Naomi could've been if she hadn't discovered drink before kids. Her hazel eyes hardened. "Kai, go and ring Sallie." Kai obeyed instantly.

"Where is he?" Sallie burst through the door, worry written all over her face. Kai said nothing, simply beckoned for Sallie to follow him. He led her into Ray's bedroom. Naomi stood up and gave her a strange look, half apprehension, half hysterical worry.

"He won't wake up." Her voice was suddenly far away. "I've tried, but he just won't..." Kai ran to his friend's side.

"Ray! Ray, wake up! Please!" he sobbed, panic overwhelming him at the still look on Ray's tanned face. He spun round to face the two woman. "_What are you fucking waiting for!_"he screamed. "Phone a fucking ambulance, you bitch!" His last comment was adressed to Naomi, who nodded quickly and ran for the phone, Sallie following her. Kai went back over to Ray and took his limp hand, pressing it to his cheek. Tears were trickling from his eyes, but he ignored them. As if he was in a dream, he climbed onto the bed and lay down next to Ray, cradling the unconscious boy in his arms. He closed his eyes.

"I'm here, Ray." he whispered. "You can't leave me. Please, please don't leave me..." Even as his voice broke in a sob, he was falling asleep, worn out by the emotions running through him.

Hands were pulling him away from Ray. He sat up, his head spinning, stomach churning.

"Don't take him away from me!" he pleaded brokenly. Sallie placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Kai. You can see Ray later, okay?" Still half-asleep, Kai nodded and swallowed hard.

Ray moaned softly. It was so dark, he was so tired...but he had promised Kai that they would stick together...he couldn't let him down... With a tremendous effort, he opened his eyes. He blinked in the fierce hospital light, seeing the face of a stranger hovering above him. He tried to talk, but there was something in his throat.

"Ssh, Ray, it's okay. I'm just going to take something out of your throat, then you can talk again. All right?" He nodded, fear rising up inside him. Where was he? Where was Kai? The tube slid out of his throat.

"Kai..." he rasped. The nurse blinked, then smiled.

"Oh, yes, _Kai_. We've had to give him a bed, you know. He wouldn't leave you." She turned away. "Kai! There's someone in here who wants to see you!" There was the sound of rushing feet, then Kai sat down next to him, taking hold of his hand tightly. Ray smiled weakly, seeing the tears glittering in Kai's eyes.

"Don't you ever do that ever again!" Kai told him fiercely. "You've been in a coma for three weeks! I've been so scared..." He broke off. Ray reached out to him.

"Kai..." Kai wiped his eyes fiercely. Casting a quick look around for the nurse, he lay down next to Ray and hugged him gently.

"I've been doing this every time there was no-one around." he whispered. "I would never leave you, you know that, don't you, Ray?" Ray nodded sleepily, resting his head comfortably on Kai's chest. "_Tong zhou gong ji_." Kai said softly.

"_Tong zhou gong ji_." Ray replied. Through thick and thin. Nothing would ever part them now. He saw something out of the corner of his eye and smiled.

Well, maybe a very determined nurse...

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Well? what did you think? Any good? Tell me if you want me to carry it on. 


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, I'm not too sure about why I'm doing this, but so many people have asked me to continue it, how could I disappoint them? This takes place two years after the events in chapter one. Warning, this contains bad language and racism.

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Ray stumbled backwards as a muscular boy pushed him, hard.

"_I_ am captain of the football team, not some scrawny little piece of shit like you! Got that?" Ray stared calmly back at the fuming boy, his golden eyes steady and unflinching.

"You must be some captain if a scrawny piece of shit can get on the team, huh?" he said quietly. He tasted blood as the boy's fist connected painfully with his jaw.

"Shut the fuck up, you stinking Chinky!" Ray sighed.

"Do you know how many times people've called me that? Come up with something original, why don't you? Surprise me." The boy stared at him, the combination of Ray's eerie calmness and his surprisingly adult vocabulary freaking him out more than a little. Covering up his momentary uncertainness, he charged at the twelve year-old, fist raised. Suddenly, it was caught in an iron grip and twisted agonisingly up his back.

"Now then, Jimmie-boy," a voice breathed next to his ear. "What did I tell you about your nasty little habit, huh?" The boy referred to as Jimmie-boy yelled in agony as his assailant jerked his arm up even further. The voice changed, vicious, menacing, a sibilant hiss of threat. "_You leave Ray alone_."

"Y-Yes, Kai!" Jim stammered, sweat running down his face in rivulets as he fought to keep from screaming with pain.

"Good boy." The pressure on his arm was released suddenly and he fell to the floor, cradling his injured arm. Kai snarled wordlessly at him and turned to Ray, staring defiantly at the small crowd that had gathered. "Come on, Ray. Let's go." He took Ray gently by the arm and pulled him away.

Once they were completely out of sight, Ray's calmness seemed to disintegrate. Clinging to Kai like a tiny child, he buried his face in the older boy's neck and fought down sobs. Kai rubbed his back soothingly.

"It's so stupid, Kai...why does everyone hate me?" Kai didn't respond, knowing that it was a rhetorical question and that Ray was just upset at the violence that had taken place.

"I'm sorry." he said quietly. "I over-reacted a little bit, didn't I?" Ray gave him a watery smile.

"I'm used to it." he said, with just the faintest trace of irony in his lilting voice. Kai scowled at him, but contradicted himself by tightening his grip on Ray ever so slightly.

"You okay now?" he asked. Ray nodded.

"Yeah, fine. How do I look?" Kai scrutinised him carefully.

"Your eyes are a bit red, but it's not really noticeable." With a grin, Ray stepped away from Kai's hold and started to drag him down the school corridor.

"Good, 'cause the bell rang ten minutes ago!" Swearing and laughing breathlessly, the two boys raced down the corridors, dashing to their respective lessons in the vain hope that their teachers hadn't noticed their absence yet.

Ray sat at his desk, his tongue stuck out in concentration as he struggled to work out the equation that they had all been setnearly an hour ago.

"Having trouble, Ray?" a cheerful voice asked him. He nodded, flushing slightly in embarrassment.

"Yeah…"

"No need to be embarrassed!" the teacher said brightly, crouching down beside him and taking a pencil from behind her ear. "Right then. So, x equals five, yes?" Ray nodded. "Okay, so we just need to rub out x and put five in its place. That's called substitution. Once we've done that, the rest should be easy! Two times five plus one, Ray?"

"Eleven?" Ray answered uncertainly. He wasn't used to getting answers right.

"Exactly right! Well done!" Ray grinned widely.

"Thanks, miss!"

"No problem, Ray. Now, do the remainder of question one before the end of the lesson, please." The teacher smiled at him and stood up. Feeling slightly more confident, Ray picked up his pencil and started working again. A few minutes later:

"Hey! Ray!" He swivelled round in his seat to face the whisperer.

"Yeah, Mariah?" The only Chinese girl in the school winked at him, flicking her dyed neon-pink hair in the direction of the teacher.

"Watch this!" She ripped a small piece out of her maths book, balled it up with saliva and flicked it expertly at the teacher. The woman carried on walking round the classroom, completely unaware of the paper ball that was now firmly lodged in her hair. The class erupted into stifled laughter. Mariah turned and grinned proudly at Ray. "Did you see that?" she asked, batting her long eyelashes flirtatiously.

"Yeah, I did." Ray said quickly and turned round again, feeling horribly awkward. It had been painfully obvious since the first day of secondary school that Mariah had a huge crush on Ray, and he wasn't sure how to respond. Saying that he wasn't interested seemed too harsh, but the more that he did nothing, the more convinced she became that he returned her interests. And to make things worse, her older brother, Lee, who was just a few months shy of Kai's age and in the same year, was - for want of a better word - a thug. He didn't want Mariah's infatuation to result in a fight between Lee and him, or worse, Lee and Kai. Kai was already treading on thin ice as it was with the senior staff. A fight might get him excluded or expelled.

Oh, wasn't life just great? At least he had Art next. He brightened at the thought. They were doing observational drawings today, which basically meant drawing whatever the teacher put in front of you and trying to make it as accurate as possible. That was fun. What did he have after that?

"Ray? Since the ceiling appears to hold your attention far better than I do, could you please tell me the answer to question 1b?" Ray snapped back into reality, colour flooding his face as he frantically scanned his maths book.

"Um…um…seven?" he asked, trying to ignore the giggles that were spreading around the classroom. The rest of the class quietened as the teacher gave them a scorching look.

"Very good, Ray. Adam! As you found that so hilarious, let's hear your answer for 1c." Ray couldn't suppress a grin as Adam read out the wrong answer and made the mistake of insulting the teacher under his breath. "What was that, Adam?" Ray put a hand over his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud at the rebellious look on the boy's face.

"N-Nothing, miss…"

"Good boy. Make sure it stays that way." The bell rang for the end of class. Instantly, everyone began to reach under their desks for the their bags and coats. "7TJR! Where do you think you're going?"

"Art, miss." Ray said promptly, deliberately keeping his face perfectly serious. The class murmured in approval.

"Not just yet, you're not! Logbooks out!" There was a unanimous sigh as thirty-two logbooks were removed from bags and opened to the correct page. "Your homework tonight is page 32 in your workbooks, questions three, four and seven. Due in Friday." she added. "All right, then! Off you go!" Ray, closest to the door, was the first one out. He set off down the steps, already imagining his pencil running over the one remaining clean page in his Art book.

"Excellent work, Ray!" the Art teacher complimented, causing the boy to grin like a Cheshire cat. He continued working with renewed vigour.

After the lesson finished, Ray was one of the last to leave. He jumped violently as the teacher put her hand on his shoulder, still averse to being touched by people he didn't trust.

"Sorry to startle you, Ray, but I was just wondering if I could talk to you for a minute?" Ray shrugged, forcing himself to calm down.

"Okay." He followed the teacher over to her desk, where she sat down and started rummaging through the mass of paper covering it.

"Ray, as you must know, your work is far and away the best in the class. If I may venture to say so, it is even the best in the year." Ray shuffled his feet and looked at the floor. "There's a big competition coming up soon. I send the best piece of work from each year in, and if you win, you go into the next round, competing against schools in the county, then the whole country. I'd like you to enter. What do you think?" Ray bit his lip, thinking. It sounded brilliant, he had to admit.

"Will it cost anything?" he asked.

"No, the school pays for everything." He continued to chew his lip.

"I don't know…what if I'm not good enough?" he ventured, voicing his worst fear.

"Trust me, Ray, you're good enough." He looked at her, startled. She smiled at him. "I've been doing this quite a few years now, and if you don't get to the county heats at least, I'll eat my hat!" Ray silently processed this, ignoring the "eat my hat" saying that he didn't recognise.

"Um…okay…" he said eventually.

"Brilliant! I have to send the work off in about four months, so see if you can come up with something original in that time. If not, I'll just pick the best of your class work. You can use anything, paint, chalk, pastels, coloured pencils, charcoal, or just a simple line and tone drawing, it's up to you!" Ray nodded, inwardly relieved. Four months was a long time. He would have plenty of time to think of what he wanted to do.

"Okay. Thanks, miss."

"Think nothing of it, Ray. I want to have a winner in my class for once!" _So, no pressure, huh? _Ray thought dryly, chuckling to himself as he swung his bag over his shoulder and left the room.

He sat back in his chair, bored. The teacher had gone out of the room to fetch a couple of new kids, so he was stuck. He scanned what he had written so far and let out a cry of frustration. This was the kind of things _four_ year-olds got right!

The tac tas no eht tam.

With a growl, he ripped the piece of paper up and flung it into a corner.

An achievement!" he mumbled bitterly. "I spelt the first word the right way round!" He tried again, his natural stubbornness refusing to let it rest.

tam eht no tas tac ehT

"Oh, _great_!" Swearing at the top of his voice, he ripped the second piece into tiny fragments and dropped them onto the desk. Kicking the chair leg moodily, he folded his arms and stared angrily at the wall. "Success Maker, huh? More like Hell." he mumbled. He was jolted out of his sulk when the teacher returned with the two new boys.

His immediate thought was that both of them looked too young to be in secondary school. There was a boy with thick navy hair, clearly dyed, you could faintly see the dark-brown roots, and matching navy eyes, and a smaller, slighter blond with startlingly bright blue eyes. They were looking uncertainly round, the blond boy trying to hide behind his friend. With a teasing nudge, the navy-haired boy moved aside.

"Ray, these two are Tyson Granger," The older boy grinned and waved enthusiastically, calling out a loud:

"Hiya!"

"and Max Tate." The blond stared fixedly at the floor, muttering a greeting so softly as to be inaudible. Ray nodded in response.

"Hi. Hey, aren't you two a bit too young to be here?"

"Our school couldn't cope with us!" Tyson said with a boastful grin.

"That's nothing to be proud of, Tyson!" the teacher told him sternly. Tyson mumbled a grudging apology under his breath, giving her an irritated glare behind her back. Ray's attention was drawn to Max, who had visibly flinched backwards as the teacher walked near him, and was now determinedly staring at the floor again.

"Come sit over here." he suggested. Without waiting for anyone else's opinion on the matter, Tyson dashed over and sat down in the desk next to Ray. Max followed like a well-behaved shadow, his half-lidded blue eyes tracking Tyson more effectively than radar. "So, why're you both here, then?" Ray asked. "Just tell me if you want me to shut up, I'm used to it." He couldn't help a slightly bitter chuckle.

"It's kinda simple, really." Tyson shrugged, giving the Chinese boy an affable grin. "I talk too much, and Maxie here doesn't talk enough. School got fed up of us, and this place was the only one with any kind of 'facilities'." He snorted in distaste. "What about you?" Wordlessly, Ray pointed towards the scrunched-up ball of paper. Surprisingly, it was Max who stood up and retrieved the discarded work. He handed it to Tyson, who grinned and patted him on the shoulder in thanks. Max gave him a tiny smile in return and averted his eyes politely as Tyson scanned the chaotic scrawl, his mouth slowly forming the words as he read. Ray suddenly remembered the state of his handwriting.

"Sorry, it's really messy." he apologised.

"It's almost as bad as his, he'll be able to understand it no problem!" a tiny, husky voice said, laughing slightly. Ray looked curiously up at Max, who had blushed a deep crimson at his boldness in actually speaking. Finally, Tyson put the paper down.

"Dyslexic, huh?" Ray nodded glumly, flinching involuntarily as Tyson clapped him reassuringly on the back.

"Yep. Very." he replied unhappily.

"Bad luck. I'm a bit like that, too." Tyson said easily. "Bummer, isn't it?"

"Dead right."

"Hey, you're a Chink, aren't you?" Ray, already irritated and always sensitive to that particular word, couldn't help his gaze suddenly sharpening into a furious glare and pinning itself to Max's frightened face. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean…" Max's quivering voice trailed off into a soundless whisper as he slowly backed away. Noticing that Tyson's gaze was no longer quite so friendly, Ray made a heroic effort and calmed himself down.

"I'm sorry, Max." he said after a minute of inwardly fuming. "It's not exactly a complimentary expression, and I'm fed up of people using it as a way to take the piss." Max giggled nervously at the swearword and gradually returned to his normal position beside Tyson.

"It's okay. I'm really sorry, I didn't know that's what it was-"

"It's fine, Max." Ray assured him. He held out a hand. "Friends?" Giggling with awkwardness, Max gingerly took Ray's tanned hand in his own, cream-coloured one and shook it, looking as though he was wondering quite what was possessing him. Smiling encouragingly at him, Ray turned to Tyson, still with his hand held out. Tyson grinned widely and shook it, hard.

"Friends." the two younger boys said in unison.

Ray jogged alongside Kai, who was walking home much faster than usual.

"You heard about the two new L. S boys?" he asked breathlessly.

"No." Kai said flatly, not even looking at him. Ray stared up at him, suddenly worried.

"What's up?"

"Nothing."

"Kai-"

"_I said nothing_!" Ray reeled back, both hands pressed to his throbbing cheekbone, his mind numb with shock. Kai glared wildly at him, one hand clenched into a tight, shaking fist. Abruptly, he swung away, running in a completely different direction. "Tell Jonathon and Rachael I'm going to the park!" he yelled behind him, almost as an afterthought. Ray stared after his retreating figure, feeling panic make an entrance in the pit of his stomach, activating an ache that he hadn't felt for two years. Slowly, he swivelled to face the long walk home. Suddenly, it seemed twice the distance. Three times.

_Kai hit me… _A tear welled up in his eye and stayed there, frozen by the shock spreading through his body.

After an evening that would have been pleasant if he hadn't been torn in two by his battling emotions about his foster brother and best friend, Ray went to his bedroom. Not to bed, just to the one room in the house that he had been careful to set out as his own from day one. His private space. Not even Kai came in without knocking. _Kai… _

Distractedly, he got out a pencil and paper and began doodling idly. He didn't realise that someone was knocking until a soft voice called "Ray?" He turned sharply to the door, silently reassuring himself that it was still securely locked.

"Coming, Rachael," he called, sliding back the bolt. Pulling the door open, he raised an inquiring eyebrow. "Are you busy?" Ray shook his head. "Could we talk a bit?"

"Yeah, okay." His foster mother followed him into his bedroom and sat down next to him on his bed. Ray looked moodily at the floor. "What is it?" he asked eventually.

"I was hoping you'd tell me that." Rachael said quietly. Ray didn't say anything, silently hoping that she'd just give up and go away. "What happened between you and Kai today, Ray? Did he get into another fight with a bully again?" Ray stayed silent. "Come on, Ray. You can tell me, can't you?" Ray shook his head. With a quick, gasping inhalation, he turned and buried his head in her soft chest, feeling her arms close around him comfortingly. "It's okay, Ray darling, it's okay," she murmured, rocking him as if he was a much younger child. Suddenly reminded of his near-teenage staus, Ray pulled away, mumbling apologies. Rachael smiled, her brown eyes amused. "I understand. You're too cool for hugs now."

"Yep." Ray replied matter-of-factly, smiling wanly at her. She kisssed him lightly on the forehead and stood up.

"Al right, I'll leave you in peace, shall I? Jonathon's gone to find Kai, so don't worry about him." Ray nodded. His chest felt suddenly heavy.

"Ray?" The insistent whisper roused Ray from his restless doze.

"Whazzit?" he mumbled thickly, sitting upright and rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Can I come in?"

"Hm...what? Yeah, whatever..." Ray yawned until his jaw cracked and rubbed his eyes again, stumbling over to the door and opening it. He backed away a few steps as the door swung open to reveal a battered-looking Kai leaning on the doorframe. "Kai." He turned away, fighting to keep himself under control.

"Ray..." He heard Kai's step forward, so took one himself, keeping the distance at one that he felt at least partially comfortable with. "Ray, I'm so, so sorry...I can't believe I...did that to you."

"Say it." Ray ordered tonelessly. "You hit me. Deliberately."

"I...I-I hit you. Oh my god, I-"

"You took your feelings out on me, in a way that you know I can't take!" Ray spun on his heel, staring at Kai angrily. "You know how I feel about being hit, Kai! Especially by people who I think I can trust..." His voice lowered. Trembling with anger and...dare he say it...fear, he sat down, gazing blindly at the floor. "I don't want to be scared of you, Kai." he whispered. "I don't want to jerk away every time you come near me. I don't want to feel like I don't trust you anymore. You're my best friend, my brother."

"I know, Ray. Please, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't even have thought it... Will you forgive me?" Ray looked up into Kai's pleading, damp eyes. Eventually, he sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, I forgive you. But, please Kai, please, never do that to me again."_ Never make me relive...Him again. I do it enough without your help_.

"Never." Kai breathed, closing his eyes and slumping against the doorframe. Alarmed, Ray ran to him, shaking his shoulder frantically. Kai's eyes flickered open and the ghost of a smile crept across his lips. "Easy, Ray. I'm just tired, that's all." he murmured. "Been a...bad day."

"What was wrong this afternoon?" Ray asked tentatively. Kai's face hardened.

"Nothing for you to concern yourself about." he said quietly. With an obvious effort, he pulled himself upright. Ruffling Ray's hair affectionately, he walked into his bedroom. Ray watched him walk away, then, shivering in the cool night-time temperatures, went back to his bed and crawled under the covers.

* * *

Right, some clarification.

Success Maker is a thing in my school for people who need help with subjects like Maths and English.

Ray's school day is based pretty much entirely on my school's timetable, and as I'm British,I apologise to pretty much everyone else who doesn't understand it! Just ask me in your review, and I'll do my best to explain whatever is confusing you.

This story may have a lot of racist undertones in it, butI assure you,I am _**not**_ racist, nor am I trying to disrespect people of other cultures and religions in my writing.

The same goes for the sexual and child abuse storylines. They are a plot-line, nothing more, and I apologise if anyone finds them offensive.

Back to more frivolious subjects! For a change, I might switch the focus of the story in the next chapter, ie focus more on Kai, or Tyson, or Max, opinions needed on that subject. On the other hand, if you all have changed your minds and decided that this story is best as a one-shot, kindly tell me so that I can delete this chapter!

Please point out any spelling mistakes in your reviews. (hint hint, nudge nudge...)


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, I've finally written the next chapter! Thanks to **darksaphire** (didI spell that right?) for pointing out to me that Ray shouldn't have forgiven Kai that easily, and inspiring this chapter! Also, thanks to **sunstar**for pointing out that there's no division when it starts a new time or place. That is now fixed!A big, humungus (I _know_ I spelt that wrong!) thankyouto everyone who's reviewed this! You are all brilliant!

This chapter is centered around Kai. The next one should hopefully centere around Ray, but if anyonehas any suggestions to the contrary, I'll be glad to hear them.

* * *

"Kai!" Jonathon's deep bass voice burst into Kai's comfortable doze. Kai roused himself enough to throw his pillow in the general direction of the door and settled back down. "Kai, it's eleven o'clock, for heaven's sake!"

_Yeah, and I've had about...five hours sleep tonight? _

"Sallie's here!" Slowly, the fact penetrated Kai's tired brain. Yawning, he sat up and dragged a hand across his closed eyes.

"Coming!" he yelled thickly, his tongue refusing to work properly. He got out of bed and shrugged on a dirty pair of jeans and a scarlet T-shirt. He couldn't be bothered to get dressed yet, but obviously he couldn't go downstairs and have Sallie see him wearing only his boxers. He had his pride.

Ray, however, clearly didn't. Kai couldn't stop himself from snorting quietly at the sight of his foster brother snuggled up to their social worker, a blissful expression on his face. Sallie grinned at him.

"Oh yes, I forgot, Kai's too high and mighty for hugs!"

"Dead right." Kai said tonelessly, keeping his face perfectly straight. Rachael opened her mouth to scold him, but saw the knowing look on her husband's face and closed it again, smiling ruefully. Ray squirmed a little in his comfortable position and sent a reproachful glare towards Kai, who felt irritation make a quick rise inside him. "Not all of us still act like seven year-old's, Ray," he said sharply.

"No, some of us act like seventy year-old's!" Ray retorted, scowling playfully. Kai laughed softly, letting go of his anger in favour of throwing himself down on Sallie's other side and hugging her tightly for a swift moment. He had known Sallie for even longer than Ray, since he was eight and had accidentally let slip "our little secret" to his teacher. She was the one and only person, other than Ray of course, who he trusted completely. Rachael and Jonathon deserved a certain amount of respect for keeping him the longest of any foster parents so far, but he was still slightly wary.

Sallie gently elbowed Ray in the side. Kai sighed as the boy childishly refused to move. He reached over and tapped him on the back of his head; always enough to bring him back to his sense in a blink. Taken by surprise, both Ray's hands flew up to cover his head protectively, his eyes flashing anger and a certain amount of fear.

"Get off!" he hissed angrily, swatting at Kai, who smirked and stood up.

"The adults want to talk, idiot. Come on, let's go get breakfast." Ray stood, bowing his head respectfully to the adults and followed Kai into the kitchen.

* * *

Kai opened the cupboard and started rooting around for the cereal, while Ray peered doubtfully into the breadbin. Rachael's memory was legendary, and not for a good reason. "Yesterday, after school, what were you saying?" Kai said abruptly, the memory only just now entering his head.

"Whoa, you think slow!" Ray teased. Kai wondered if the other boy knew that he was rubbing his cheek. Just the thought of what he had done was enough to make his insides tighten in guilt. If he had taken things any further at all, made one more threatening motion, he would have lost him. Ray had been almost painfully stand-offish last night after he'd finally crawled in with his tail in-between his legs, and even as he had touched him just now, he had seen that flicker of uncertainty, of doubt, and it hurt like hell. He didn't want to lose Ray. He _couldn't_ lose Ray. Not when he had so few people that he trusted. And what about Ray himself? If it hadn't been for Kai being there, god only knew what would have happened to him after he had awoken from his coma. Not to mention when he had been "persuaded" to give evidence in the trial - "Oy! Earth to Kai!" He blinked and flushed with embarrassment. Shit, he was getting mushy. Bad. Distraction needed.

"Yeah, what?"

"Yesterday, after school?" Ray reminded him impatiently. Kai nodded. "I asked you whether you'd heard about the two new L.S students." Kai frowned in thought. There _had_ been a rumour circulating round about something like that...oh yes, a juicy one, too…

"Yeah, I heard about them. I take it you've met them?" Ray nodded.

"Yep, they were in Success Maker. What've you heard?" _Tone it down! _Kai's conscience screamed at him. Obediently, he omitted some of the details that he'd heard.

"Tyson, he's the older one, yeah?" A nod. "Well, he's got dyslexia and mild ADHD, so as you can guess, school's never really been fun for him, at least that's what's going around."

"Poor guy. What about Max?"

"Shy to the point of paranoia, and only talks to people he feels comfortable around. The rumour _was _that he was mute, but then they changed it." He snorted. Personally, he didn't have much faith in school rumours, especially as they were sensationalised as they were passed along. He just hoped like hell that one particular detail that he'd left out in his sketchy re-telling was just someone's twisted attempt to wind him up... "Anyway, changing the subject, you got any homework?" Ray scowled and nodded.

"English." He spat the word out as if it were poisonous. Kai gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Want a hand?" Ray shrugged.

"Okay." There it was again, the defensiveness that had never been there before.

God, his head ached…

"You haven't forgiven me, have you?" he asked quietly. He had to know, had to hear it outright, rather than spend any longer watching and hurting over what could just be in his imagination. **Could be…**

"Not…completely…" Ray mumbled, flushing and looking uncomfortably at the floor, distractedly fingering his bruised cheek. He'd told Rachael he'd walked into the doorframe, Kai had heard him.

**…but wasn't**. Both boys stood in silence for what felt like a long time. "You don't know…what it's like." Ray continued, clearly trying to placate Kai.

"Leave it." His voice came out colder than it was supposed to. "I understand. Now, do you want help with this or not?" Ray averted his gaze and mumbled an affirmative. A disgustingly weak part of Kai wanted to hug him tightly, apologise for the unforgivable thing that he had done, chase that unhappy, apprehensive look away from his face with a few of his spectacularly dirty jokes, get his little brother back again.

Instead, he squashed the urge down and followed his foster brother into the living room to help him with his English homework.

* * *

He looked up as Sallie peered round the door, an unusually serious expression on her round, freckled face.

"You boys want to fill me in?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"On what?" Kai asked, stalling for time.

"Come on, Kai, you know what." He couldn't meet her gaze. _Yes_, he thought savagely, _I hit Ray, destroyed a two-year friendship with one fucking punch, you wanna make something of it, bitch?_ With a frustrated growl, he walked over to the window and stood there, glaring out at anything or anybody that was unlucky enough to come within his line of sight. Behind him, he heard Ray, with much stumbling and stammering and lapses into incomprehensible Chinese, tell Sallie what had happened yesterday afternoon after school. "Kai?"

"What?"

"Is this true?"

"Yes." He could practically hear Ray silently pleading him to say more, apologise, act contrite. He stayed silent, though it hurt to do it. Resentment boiled inside him. Ray was always the one who got all the attention, just because he was younger. What about him, huh? No-one had given a damn why he'd hit Ray in the first place. Why he'd run away afterwards, run as if someone was chasing him...

He didn't need all this. He didn't need Sallie poking her nose in everywhere. He didn't need Ray. Was it really his fault if the kid was so fucking touchy? Hell, his head felt like it was splitting...

"Yes." he repeated tiredly, rubbing at his temples. "I hit him. You happy now?"

"Kai..." Ignoring Ray's shaky whisper, Kai swung away from the window and headed for his room.

"I've got a headache." he said coldly as he passed Jonathon.

Flinging himself onto his bed, he shut his eyes and tried to ignore the nauseating thudding over his left eye.

* * *

Two futile hours later, he was drifting in an uncomfortable, painful doze when he heard the door open slowly.

"Kai?" Ray's voice, soft and uncertain, echoed slightly in the absolute silence. Kai didn't move. "Oh...you're asleep..." His voice was sad. Kai felt the bed go down as he sat on it. "At least I can get some of this off my chest..." He sighed quietly. "I'm...I'm really sorry, okay? I probably shouldn't have reacted like I did...but I couldn't...I couldn't take it. People you trust, family, they're not supposed to hurt you, right? That's what everyone always says, right?" He was crying now, sobbing gently in between words. "Then... why..." He laughed bitterly. "Guess I trust the wrong people, huh? No, that's not fair. I know you don't...that you can't handle some things, we all know what your temper's like.I must've done something wrong without realising it." He laughed again, a flat, brittle sound with no humour in it. "Story of my life."

God, this hurt. Lying there, listening to Ray trying to persuade himself that it was his fault somehow, that he had done something to make Kai break the most sacred of taboos between the two of them... He shouldn't be doing this, he should open his eyes now, right now, tell Ray that it wasn't his fault, being hurt was never his fault...

He heard the door click shut and cursed himself in a hundred different ways. He couldn't lose Ray. Not now. Not _now_... Gradually, he drifted off into a fitful, nightmare-filled sleep. As usual, only one face hovered above him, eyes alight with hunger as pain jolted through his entire body, making him cry and writhe against the sheets.

* * *

"Hey Kai, guess what?" Ray yelled cheerfully, bounding down the stairs like a hyperactive puppy.

"What?" Kai yawned, rubbing his bloodshot eyes bad-temperedly.

"I can't believe I forgot about it! Last Friday, my art teacher said that I could enter into this competition!"

"Competition?"

"Yeah, a big one!"

"Are you going to enter?" Kai asked indifferently. Ray nodded excitedly.

"You bet!" He shrugged, suddenly self-conscious. "I won't get very far, though."

"Says who?" Kai demanded aggressively. If there was one thing that he really couldn't take for very long, it was Ray putting himself down.

"Says me!" Ray retorted, a faint note of sulkiness in his voice. Kai stood up, thoroughly irritated.

"You listen to me, Ray." he said fiercely. "You have a talent that anyone with half a brain would do anything to get, and I can't stand hearing you put yourself down! You enter that damn competition, and I won't even _act_ surprised when you win it!" Ray flushed and shuffled his feet in embarrassment, silenced.

"Thanks, Kai." he mumbled. Kai nodded a curt acknowledgement and gave him a quick, thin smile, before heading upstairs to get ready for school.

* * *

"Today, class, I'm going to see how good your improvisation skills are." Kai moved his head from where it was resting comfortably on his folded arms to get a better look at the teacher, his interest roused. The teacher was busily handing out lined paper, two sheets per person. Lazily, he raised a hand. "Yes, Kai?"

"How, sir?" Kai asked simply.

"I was just getting to that." Kai shrugged, dismissing the annoyed note in the teacher's voice. "You have the whole lesson to write anything you want. It can be anything, poetry, a story, an advert, a descriptive piece...it's all up to you. I'll collect them in and mark them at the end of the lesson. Get on with it, then!" He clapped his hands together sharply. With much grumbling, the class rummaged in their pencil cases and started scribbling.

Kai yawned widely and stared blankly at the sheet of paper in front of him. _At the moment, all I could write about is how nice it would feel to go to sleep... _A idea hit him. _Except it isn't always, is it? That little thing in the back of your mind, telling you to be afraid... _His eyes lighting up, he picked up his pen and wrote the date and a title.

**Dark**

**Deep down inside everyone, there's always that little voice that screams out loud if the lights go. The fear of the dark. We've all experienced it. Ask yourself honestly; did you have a light on during the night when you were a child? The answer will be yes; I know that without asking you. Did you always used to check under the bed, or in the wardrobe, or stare as if transfixed at the closed curtains, just waiting for something to burst out? Once again, the answer will be yes. **

**Imaginary demons and monsters thrive in the dark. They gibber and howl at you until you end up screaming, huddling under the covers until someone rushes in and turns the light on.**

**"It's okay," they said, holding you tightly. "It's gone now." But is it? Of course not. It's just waiting for you. Waiting for the blinding light to disappear, to plunge the room back into darkness.**

**Thousands of years ago, there was no electric lights that could banish the demons with the flick of a switch, no adults to run in and comfort you. Because both children and adults alike felt the fear. Crowding round a small fire, watching warily for wild beasts, enemies, anyone or anything that might creep up and take them by surprise. They had a reason for fear, all those years ago. But we don't, do we, safe in our cocooned little world of electricity and high-tech gizmos? So why do we still fear what can be banished in an instant?**

**Because even bedrooms are not safe. When you wake up, drenched in sweat and shivering from some ghastly invention of your overworked mind, if you look around it's there, right in front of you, leering down at you with glee in the shadows. Even when the lights go on, it takes a while before you feel safe enough to close your eyes, a while before you're sure that the terrifying movie won't play itself across the backs of your eyelids, with you watching and shaking, helpless to stop it.**

**They say the best horror books, the most chilling books, are about normal, everyday things gone wrong. About doors that creak as they open, familiar faces horribly changed, greedy, hungry, grinning down at you like puppets. Ordinary people and places, twisted out of all proportion into something that deep down, you never stop fearing. And it all happens when the lights go out…**

**Are _you_ afraid of the dark?**

He leant back in his chair and considered what he had written. It would do, he supposed. Probably give the teacher a bit of a chill, which was always entertaining.

"Hey, Kai!" He turned at the loud whisper and smirked at the two red-heads staring at him. Julia and Salima, best friends and not above sharing a boyfriend.

He didn't fancy either of them, but they were both highly attractive, excellent kissers and not afraid to go that little bit further, so who was he to turn them down? Not like Ray, who was having serious trouble with Lee's little sister, Mariah. The word "obsessed" came to mind. He should probably sort that mess out at some point. All it would take was a few threats, some plain speaking, maybe a quick fight with Lee…

* * *

He sucked in a breath of air, and then bent his head to kiss Salima again, feeling her slender body press against his. His tongue pushed at her closed lips, demanding permission that she gave without hesitation. Her arms slid round his neck, her fingers tangling in his hair, pulling him closer. It was lunchtime, and they had claimed a deserted corridor, with Julia watching out for teachers from the far end. Kai grinned inwardly at Salima's keenness and deepened the kiss. Slowly, he lifted up her white school blouse and slid his hand under it, moving his palm over her smooth, velvety skin in a circular motion. She moaned softly and relaxed into his arms, her eyes glassy with lust. Kai raised his head and whispered huskily into her ear.

"Take it off." Without breaking the kiss for more than a few seconds, Salima obediently stripped off her top and returned to his embrace eagerly.

"Careful, you two. Don't go so far that you can't look normal again really quickly. I can't give that much of an alarm." Julia warned, averting her gaze from the door to scold the two of them. Kai removed a hand from Salima's back long enough to flip her off, uncaring about school and teachers right now.

He did wonder about her. What kind of girl could coolly watch her best friend with her boyfriend and never show even the faintest hint of jealousy? At the moment, his theory about the two of them went something along the lines of: _they're bi/gay and therefore either getting off on watching, or using me as a cover_. Either of which was fine by him. He wasn't after a relationship, just a good time. Wondering idly how far he could go, he reached up and fingered Salima's bra strap, smirking when she twitched and shifted uneasily.

"No, Kai…" she whispered, looking up at nervously. He shrugged carelessly,

"Whatever.", and returned to kissing her. He didn't care. He had plenty of others. There was a girl in Year 11 who was always good for a bit of the hot and heavy stuff. A complete tart - she'd have to be to do it with a Year Eight - but as fit as hell nonetheless.

"Look out, twats! Teacher alert! Oh look, there's your little brother, Kai!" Salima dragged her top back on and pulled away, much to Kai's disgust. Damn it, stupid teachers… He raised his eyebrows at Ray, who mimed zipping his lips, giving him and the two girls a quizzical look.

* * *

"Why do you think it's cool to snog everything in a bra?" Ray asked bluntly, looking intently up at Kai as he walked beside him on their way home.

"I don't." Kai replied matter-of-factly. "I think it's entertaining to see how many girls want it." He smirked and licked his lips, an action that he knew would put Ray's hackles up.

"You're a slut, you know that?"

"_What_!" He rounded on the younger boy, eyes blazing. "Fuck you, Ray, I am _not_!"

"You get off with any and every girl that asks you, Kai!" Ray retorted, backing away very slowly. Purely because he was angry and wanted a reaction, Kai raised his fist. Ray's face drained of colour and he nearly tripped over his own feet. Kai lowered his fist, a sick feeling welling up inside him. _I shouldn't have done that..._

"Come on, Ray, you know I wouldn't really hit you, don't you? I promised, didn't I?" he asked, giving a forced laugh. Ray joined in, but his laugh was equally strained, if not more, and he couldn't meet Kai's gaze.

"Yeah, you promised." he replied quietly.

For the rest of the walk home, neither boy spoke to the other.

* * *

There we go! Somewhat pointless, but it made the points thatI wanted to make: thatKai's an absolute pussy-hound, and Ray still hasn't forgiven him. In case anybody's wondering, this will, eventually, turn out to be a properKai/Ray fic, with yaoi, but not yet. They're still too young, in my opinion.

Oh yeah, what did everyone think of Kai's English piece?I was quite pleased with myself when I wrote it, but now I'm not too sure...


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, here's the next chapter! Thanks to: (this is gonna be a loooong list)

tntiggris

Zoraine

Stunstar

darksaphire

Black Magician Girl3

Lost Flame

BloOdY-JoKeR

keisan

crimsonbloodvampire

The Wicked Witch of Dingl

Kioymiko

AnimeDragonofFire

Crystal-light-27

Anime Queen 48

darkwaterwolf

Little Purple Phoenix

Lady-Nikki

hikari0205

sugar hype queen

chi no hana

Shiva-iceflame

freya kurenai

kat ()

starvingartist24601

SpottedShadow2947

mika()

Kyuusaisha Bleeding

Shin Rigel

essenceofthedark

for reviewing this story, all you guys are the absolute best! If I've made any spelling mistakes or missed anyone out, please tell me.

Please enjoy this chapter!

* * *

"Hi, Ray!" Tyson called, bounding out of his seat and running over to Ray, ignoring the teacher's exasperated demands for him to return to his seat.

"Hey, Tyson." Ray replied tiredly, yawning.

"What's up?" the younger boy demanded, his mile-wide grin fading in concern. "It's non-uniform day! Be happy!" He proudly showed Ray his scarlet baseball cap with matching jacket and faded denim jeans and a bright yellow T-shirt.

"Bad few days." Ray said tightly, shrugging off his dull grey coat and hanging it on the back of his chair, revealing a simple white T-shirt and black jeans. A feather-light touch on his bare arm made him look up and meet a pair of bright blue eyes. Max gave him a little smile, tipping his head to one side as if to say _are you okay? _He was wearing a lime green T-shirt with beige shorts. Ray smiled back in thanks.

"I'm fine, thanks, Max." Max gave him a doubtful look, then wandered away to persuade Tyson back to his seat before the teacher burst a blood vessel. Ray laughed softly, amazed as usual at how Tyson would listen to quiet, shy Max like no one else. Suddenly, a question that he'd been meaning to ask Tyson for a while popped into his head. He opened his mouth to call across to Tyson, but decided against it. It was hard to get him to pay attention as it was, and it didn't help that he absolutely hated English, possibly almost as much as Ray himself. Seeing him, Max got up and went over to him.

"I've finished the work." he whispered, in answer to Ray's enquiring look. Ray's eyes widened.

"Already?" he gasped. Max nodded, going tomato red.

"You _were_ ten minutes late…" he reminded Ray delicately. Ray scowled.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. My Geography teacher's a cow." he grumbled.

"Bad luck." Max said sympathetically. "I'm okay at English, so I work fast. So, what did y' wanna ask Tyson? I probably know most things about him." Sadness flickered across his cherub-like face for a second, then he realised and replaced it with a light chuckle and a smile. Ray watched with interest, almost forgetting his question.

"Oh, yeah, I just wanted to know whether Hiro Granger in the Sixth Form is his brother."

"Oh, Hiro. Yeah, he's Tyson's big brother."

"And is it true…you know…that he's…you know…" Ray faltered, embarrassed and all too aware of the teacher.

"Yep." Tyson replied from across the room, smirking. "He is." Ray blinked at the matching, slightly evil smirks that Max and Tyson were currently wearing. This was the very first time that he'd ever seen Tyson act his age, and he was acting older, if anything.

"You two are freaking me out." he said matter-of-factly.

"Cool." they said in unison, grinning like Cheshire cats.

* * *

After the lesson, instead of going straight to lunch, Ray hung around the classroom, waiting for Tyson and Max to emerge.

"So, it's true?" he asked curiously. Tyson nodded.

"Yep, He's screwing the Deputy Head." he said with a grin. His expression changed to one of extreme worry. "Don't tell _anyone_ though, will you?" Ray shook his head and mimed zipping his lips.

"Don't worry, Tyson, your secret's safer with me than it would be in a locked safe!" A thought hit him. "Hey, do you wanna come eat lunch with me?" The two younger boys looked at each other, a mixture of shock, pleasure and doubt clear on their faces.

"I'll ask Miss." Tyson called, already dashing back into the classroom. Max made to follow him, then turned and mouthed _thanks_. Ray looked on, slightly bewildered at their reactions.

But then, if he thought about it, it did kind of make sense. They were the only people their age in the school, and were only ever in Sp. Ed. lessons, so they hadn't had a chance to meet anyone or make any friends apart from him. They had to be kind of lonely, with only each other...

"Miss says yes we can, as long as we behave ourselves!" Tyson practically yelled, his eyes alight with happiness. "Thanks Ray!" Ray grinned, still slightly taken aback. Suddenly, Tyson hugged him tightly. Reacting instinctively, Ray pushed him off and stepped backwards, every nerve alert. Tyson looked hurt for a second, then shrugged, interrupting Ray's hurried apologies. "It's okay. Max needs advance warning before a hug as well." Ray nodded, hugely relieved that Tyson hadn't taken offence. As he began walking, he shot a glance at Max, only to discover that Max was doing the exact same to him. Their eyes met fleetingly, then Max dropped his gaze timidly. Dismissing it, Ray led the two boys into the hall and looked around for his usual lunch group.

* * *

"Ray! Over here!" He swivelled and grinned at the four boys who were waving at him. With a reassuring look at Tyson and Max, who were visibly nervous, he walked over and sat down with a thud, digging in his bag for his packed lunch.

"Hey, guys. Do you mind if these two sit with us?" He addressed the question mainly to Miguel, the self-appointed leader of their little gang, who gave the younger boys an appraising look and nodded.

"Yeah, go ahead." Nervously, Tyson and Max sat down next to Ray. The youngest of the other four boys, a quiet redhead gave them a small grin. Tyson returned it effortlessly, while Max's lips only tipped up slightly at the corners, the blond retreating back into silence where he felt safest.

"Aren't you two the boys that moved up from junior school?" a light green-haired boy with a slight accent asked, giving the two of them a friendly look.

"Yeah," Tyson replied, grinning immodestly. "Teachers couldn't handle me. So, Ray, who is everyone?" he asked. Ray held up a hand and continued munching his way through his cheese sandwich.

"Mmph…hold on a sec…Okay, what did you say?"

"Who's this lot, then?"

"I didn't tell you?" A shake of the head from everybody. He flushed. "Damn. My memory's worse than I thought…"

"Wow, you actually _think_? When did that start?" a tanned boy with spiked-up blond hair teased. Ray pulled a face at him.

"Right, that idiot who just spoke is called Mystel," Mystel pulled a face straight back at Ray and waved a hand to Tyson and Max. "That's Raul," The redhead smiled shyly. "And those two are Oliver and Miguel. They're actually Year Eights, but prefer hanging out with the kids, isn't that right?"

"Dead right." Miguel smiled. He raised his eyebrows and tipped his head very slightly to one side.

"He's Max, I'm Tyson." Tyson replied, in answer to Miguel's questioning look. "And Ray's got a memory worse than a brain-damaged goldfish!" The little group exploded into laughter, all except Ray, who scowled and threw an empty crisp packet at Tyson's head.

"Brain-damaged goldfish…oh, I like that…_c'est trés, trés drol_!" Oliver chuckled, shaking his head.

"You're French?" Tyson asked curiously. Oliver nodded vigorously, his neatly bobbed, dyed green hair shifting backwards and forwards with the motion.

"Yes, I am."

"Cool." Tyson took out his own packed lunch and proceeded to eat with almost disgusting enthusiasm. "What?" he protested, meeting five astounded faces unashamedly. "I'm hungry!"

"This is good, for him." Everyone twisted and turned, trying to work out where the near-inaudible whisper came from. Ray raised an eyebrow at Max, who blushed fiercely and shrank even further into the corner of the hall.

"Hey, Ray!" Ray groaned and sent the others a pleading look.

"Hey, Mariah," he replied casually. _Time for the daily dice with death..._ A massive grin on her face, the younger girl sat down right next to him, shuffling as close as she could possibly get. Tyson, unceremoniously barged out of the way, opened his mouth indignantly, but Ray shot him a warning look and he closed it again.

"So, Ray, how about that English homework, huh?" she said breathlessly. "Was that murder or what?"

"It _was_ pretty bad," Ray agreed non-committedly. "It took me ages, and that was with Kai helping me." A heavy lump settled briefly on his chest at the name. _Kai... _Mariah tossed her head, sending her shoulder blade-length hair cascading over both Ray's shoulder and Tyson's sandwich.

"I'd never ask Lee's help for anything, he's seriously thick sometimes!" She giggled, apparently shocked at her own daring. Ray didn't say anything, occupying himself with watching Tyson stare at Mariah's intruding hair as though it was an alien thing. Max and Raul were laughing at the sight, their faces reddening with the effort of remaining silent. As Tyson gingerly picked up a bright pink strand and held it with the very tips of his fingers, Mystel let out a snort of laughter, making no effort to conceal it. Even Oliver and Miguel's lips were twitching dangerously. Mariah finally caught on to the fact that no one was paying attention to her and swivelled round to see what was so fascinating.

An outraged shriek rang through the hall, momentarily silencing the customary babble as everyone craned their necks to see what was going on.

"You disgusting little...kid!" Mariah screamed, springing upright and holding her hair protectively. The six boys roared with laughter, which stopped abruptly at the sound of an unwanted voice.

"What did you do to my little sister?" Lee asked pleasantly enough, his golden eyes narrowed nastily.

"Th-that...thing there," Mariah pointed a shaking finger towards Tyson, who was grinning too much for any attempt at an innocent look. "tried to eat my hair!" Lee smirked, clearly not believing her in the slightest. Ray let himself relax a fraction. "_I'm not kidding you, Lee_!" He winced slightly.

"Ouch. She just went up an octave there." he whispered to Miguel, who nodded and grinned.

"What was that, Ray?" Lee asked him softly. Ray's eyes widened and he mentally kicked himself. _Dammit, I shouldn't've said that... _"You makin' fun of Mariah?" He crouched down until he was only a few centimetres above Ray, staring down into Ray's terrified amber eyes. "You think that having that fucking pussy-hounding weirdo as your big brother's gonna help you?" Ray shook his head, defiance flaring briefly inside him. "Good boy. He's gonna get what's coming to him one of these days as well, just so's you know."

"Lee, that's enough!" Miguel snapped, standing up. Lee stood as well, careless of the fact that Miguel had at least a couple of inches over him, if not more.

"Why, Miguel? You want a turn?" he hissed menacingly. "Ray's got it coming, and he's damn well gonna take whatever I dish out, you got that?" Suddenly, he went down with a cry of pain.

"Got it, didn't believe it for a second." Kai's voice came harshly over Lee's grunts of pain and anger. "No one threatens Ray and gets away with it, and that fucking well includes you, you little dickhead!"

Lee got to his feet and laughed roughly.

"You think you can take me?" he scoffed.

"Yeah..." Kai murmured softly, his eyes narrowing. In a flash, his fist flew into Lee's stomach. Shrugging off their bags, the two boys flew at each other. Within seconds a crowd had gathered, watching in fascination.

Ray watched too, unable to tear his eyes away from the sight.

"All right you two, break it up!" a male teacher roared, running over. Lee and Kai showed no interest in obeying the teacher, if anything, they doubled the ferocity, Lee howling as Kai kicked him in the groin. Two more teachers arrived, and between the three of them, they separated the boys. As they were pulled apart, Lee lashed out viciously, sending his fist straight into Kai's eye with damaging force. Kai went limp in the teacher's grip, both hands flying to his face. The teacher holding him let him go. He stood passively. Only Ray saw his legs buckle slightly, saw him fight to regain his balance. The two teachers holding Lee gingerly let him go, than grabbed hold of him again as he lunged for the motionless boy. Yet another teacher (quite a crowd of them had gathered) went over to Kai and led him away.

* * *

Ray shivered involuntarily. As he mentally replayed the brutal fight, he found himself huddling in a corner, covering his head with his hands protectively as if expecting Shane to pop out of thin air.

_"Raymond Xiao-Cheung Kon, get out of there right now!" _

_"How **dare**_ _you!" _

_Then, nothing but pain, sickening, blinding, unbearable, feeling Kai's hand leave his and falling into a world of darkness…_

Tyson's worried face swam into his hazy vision, casting calculating glances between him and Max, who was chalk-white and curled up in his corner with his face hidden in his knees. He felt a hand stop just above his shoulder, the warmth reassuring. Slowly, as his senses came back to him, he saw all his friends looking at him in concern. Without even waiting to ask, Mystel and Tyson moved forwards and hugged him gently. Ray stiffened for a second, then relaxed, hugging them back. The other four - Max looking pretty much normal once again - all smiled comfortingly at him and/or patted his shoulder. Oliver handed him his water bottle, which he took with a soft "thanks" and gulped a few mouthfuls down, washing the sour taste of fear from his mouth.

By the end of lunch, he was back to normal, eagerly telling everyone about the art competition and colouring modestly at the enthusiastic praise.

* * *

**(Kai's POV)**

"Now, Kai, why did you start it?" the school counsellor asks me delicately. I keep my head where it is, any kind of movement hurts like hell. I hate to admit it, but that shit-head definitely packs one heck of a powerful punch.

"Lee was about to start on my little brother." I explain. Argh, my head feels like…dunno what it feels like, but it fucking _hurts_. It's like a persistent drumbeat banging on the front of my skull, hitting flat, hard notes on the impressive lump that I can feel coming up round my eye. I don't even want to _think _about what colour it is. The kind of colour that redefines "black eye", I suspect.

"Was he just threatening, or did he make actual physical contact?"

"He said, and I quote: "Ray's got it coming, and he's damn well gonna take whatever I dish out." That seemed pretty fucking serious to me." I mutter. Her face creases slight in distaste.

"Would you mind not swearing, please?" Yes, I fucking well would mind, you interfering cow. I wince as the drumbeat inside my head picks up a notch, beating a fast, unrelenting percussion. Typical, really. Most headaches are supposed to come and go in waves, aren't they? Gives you a bit of a rest from the pain. Ha. I'm always the awkward exception, I always get the things happening to me that no one should have to deal with… "Would you call yourself a violent person, Kai?" she asks.

_Yes_, I reply mentally. It's my temper, I just can't control it anymore. As Ray proved…oh god, Ray…why did I do that to you? Forgetting about the dumb bitch sat in front of me for a second, I let out a quiet sigh and rest my head on one hand. The drumbeat's picking up again, and it's hell. Every pound burns white-hot into my brain, implanting even deeper that stunned, horrified look on Ray's face when I punched him. I breathe out slowly, the exhalation shaky.

"What did they say to you down in the medical room?" she asks suddenly, a faint tinge of concern entering her voice.

"They didn't," I mumble. "Just gave me an ice-pack and bustled off to attend to poor old Lee." I make an expression that has nothing to do with smiling, my mouth twisting with dislike and malice. "I musta kicked him in just the right place."

"Where's the ice-pack?" I shrug.

"They took it off when I came here, said they didn't have enough to spare one." Her lips tighten in disapproval. "Anyway, why am I in here?" I ask at last, trying to make my voice sound normal, as opposed to this faint, shaking thing that's taken over my voice box in the last few seconds. The drumbeat's getting faster and faster and harder and harder, and it's all I can do to stop myself from groaning with pain.

"Lee's accusing you of bullying him." I spring to my feet, blazing anger fighting a furious battle with pain.

"_What the fuck!_" I roar. "That fucking little piece of _shit_! If I'm a fucking _bully_, he's…he's a… oh…fuck…" I sway violently, grabbing wildly for the chair and dropping back into it with a thud. "_Fuck_…"

There's no break between drumbeats now, it's just a deafening hum of agony that changes my sight into something not to be trusted, something that fades in and out and blurs until all I can see is white, brilliant, pulsating white, all I can hear is my own irrepressible, almost feverish moans… Nausea swirls in my stomach, and I vomit and vomit until the world turns to black.

* * *

"_Entrez_!" 7TJR's French teacher called in response to a knock on the door. When no answer came, she shook her head in annoyance and walked towards the door

"!" 7TJR's French teacher called in response to a knock on the door. When no answer came, she shook her head in annoyance and walked towards the door 

"Yes, something's finally shut her up!" Ray muttered under his breath to Mystel, who grinned and nodded ruefully from his seat one in front and one to the side of Ray.

"You said it, _mon copain_!" the tanned blond replied, rolling his eyes. Ray made a retching noise.

"No more French!" he complained petulantly. "It's just a load of pointless shit anyway, if you ask me…" He trailed off, seeing who was at the door. Mystel looked as well.

"Miguel was the student receptionist today, then." he commented. Ray gave him a mocking glare.

"Wow, I would never have worked that out for myself." he muttered sardonically. Mystel grinned carelessly and leaned back in his chair until he was level with Ray, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

"In that case, you're even thicker than I thought!" He started laughing uncontrollably and swung his chair forwards, out of the reach of Ray's infuriated swipe.

"Ray!" the teacher called from the doorway suddenly. "_Viens ici_!" Ray stared blankly, while Mystel started repeating it very slowly under his breath to try and figure it out.

"She's saying come here!" Mariah explained from the other side of the classroom.

"Thanks, Mariah!" Ray replied politely.

"No problem!" Mariah answered happily, grinning in pleasure at the fact that he had bothered to reply to her. Ray got up and walked to where the teacher and Miguel were standing, their body language more than slightly confrontational.

"Okay, Ray, for whatever reason, you have to hear this message _outside_." The teacher made a bad-tempered face and pointed towards the corridor. "Go on then! Out you go!" Exchanging a wry look with Miguel, he followed the older boy out the classroom and into the corridor.

* * *

"_Bonjour, mon petit ami_!" Miguel chuckled.

"Say that again and I'll hit you." Ray growled, gettingseriously annoyed by the stupid language that he didn't understand. He could barely read English for heaven's sake, how was he supposed to learn _another_ new language with virtually no spoken lessons?

"So?" he queried as soon as they were out of hearing distance of even the nosiest students. Miguel handed him a purple slip of paper, his eyes suddenly serious. Slowly, nervously, he lowered his eyes to the note and began to struggle through it.

"Um…okay, I _think_ that says Kai can't walk home tonight…can't read the rest of it." he said finally, with a snort of exasperation. Miguel looked at him, his eyes warm with sympathy as he read out the remainder of the scrawled handwriting.

"Kai's in hospital, Ray. Rachael and Jonathon are picking you up." Ray stared uncomprehendingly at him, much as he had just done in the classroom to the teacher. Gradually, it sank in.

"Shit…" he breathed softly. "How? Was it that fight with Lee?" Miguel shrugged, than changed his mind and nodded.

"None of the teachers are telling me anything, but it's severe concussion, and I reckon that motherfucker of a punch Lee gave him would be the reason." Ray nodded distractedly. "You can come back with me if you want. I go part of your way, and so does Mystel." Ray nodded again, biting his lip.

"Hey, Ray, Miguel, why the long faces?"

"Tyson, ssh! We're gonna get told off!" Ray smiled despite himself.

"Hi, guys." he called, forcing his voice to sound normal again as Tyson and Max joined them in the corridor.

"Hiya, Ray! What's up? What's that?" Tyson inquired, pointing to the slip of paper Ray held.

"Kai's gone to hospital, so he can't walk home with me." he said casually.

"Oh, are you okay to walk home? Which way do you walk?" Tyson demanded

"Down King's Road, straight through town, then up Miller's Hill." Ray answered automatically.

"That's the way we walk! Where do you live?"

"364 Regent Street."

"Whoa, that's like, just down a bit from me!" Tyson cried enthusiastically. "Way cool!" He brightened even further as another idea hit him. "Hey, why don't you all come over mine after school?"

"Everybody?" Miguel questioned sceptically. "Oliver, Raul and Mystel too?"

"Of course!" Tyson grinned widely and turned to Ray. "What about you? Once you've gone and visited Kai, of course." he added hurriedly. Ray shrugged.

"I'll think about it." he mumbled. His grin fading slightly, Tyson shrugged easily, respecting Ray's (in) decision, and started discussing the practicalities of his plan with Miguel.

"What's wrong with him?" The timid question was uttered in a soft voice, the questioner deliberately refusing to make eye contact. Ray felt his mood lighten slightly, Max's shy sensitivity pulling him back to reality.

"Concussion, Miguel said." he answered quietly. Max frowned.

"Lee." It wasn't a question. "Are you okay?" _However, that was… _He shrugged.

"I'll feel better once I've seen him." Max nodded understandingly. "So, do you think I should go back to Tyson's afterwards, then?" Max shrugged.

"That's your decision. Just remember, if you get Tyson's number off him, you just need to ring it and we'll all be there for you." He blushed. "That sounded really, really soppy, didn't it?"

"Yep." Tyson said bluntly, clapping his best friend lightly on the shoulder. "Disgustingly so."

"Tyson, don't butt in on other people's conversations! It's rude!" Max scolded playfully, his face gradually returning to its normal pale colour. The bell rang for the end of school. Tyson looked up mischievously.

"Maxie, we have just had the world's longest and most successful loo break!" he announced loudly.

"Missing class is nothing to be proud of!" Max and Miguel reprimanded in unison, exchanged surprised looks and started laughing. Ray joined in briefly, then swung his bag up onto his back and headed towards reception to meet his foster parents.

"Bye, Ray!"

"Good luck!"

"Tell Kai I've got his maths homework!"

"I'm sure he'll be delighted to hear that, Miguel!" Ray called good-humouredly over his shoulder.

* * *

Ray fought against the urge to clutch Rachael's hand as he walked down the sterile corridors, his school trainers squeaking on the polished floor. It was the smell that was disconcerting him more than anything, hospitals had a very distinctive smell after he'd spent a good two months in them and it was the same in every single one.

"You okay?" Jonathon asked, giving him an encouraging smile. He nodded and smiled thinly back. The man patted him lightly on the shoulder. Ray didn't flinch for once, his brain too caught up with bad memories and fear for Kai.

"Come on," Rachael's voice broke into his thoughts. "In we go."

Ray stood in the doorway, his eyes fixed on Kai. He looked drowsy and uncomfortable, his skin scarily pale, with a waxy quality to it.

"Idiot." It burst out of his mouth unbidden, the last thing that he would've chosen to say. Kai smirked, sitting up and wincing.

"I know you are, but what am I?" He gave Ray a lopsided, crooked smile. Ray simply stared. Finally, deliberately, he stalked over to Kai's bed and looked down at him.

"Idiot." he repeated woodenly. The room was silent. Unable to keep his mask up for any longer, Ray sat down heavily on the bed and wrapped his arms around Kai's waist, hugging him tightly. "You stupid, stupid _idiot_!" he mumbled thickly as Kai's arms closed around him uncertainly.

It felt wonderful, being comfortable with Kai again. The last week had been like walking on eggshells, unable to go near him without flinching in fear, without seeing the flash of guilt in his eyes.

"You forgive me?" Kai whispered disbelievingly. Ray nodded.

"Of course."

* * *

Sorry, butI couldn't stand it any longer! They HADto make up! Did you like the bit in Kai's POV? I was a bit uncertain about changing the character perspective so drastically, but it just seemed to fit so nicely! I also had to add something controversial about Hiro in, so the whole deputy head thing just kinda worked.

The French translations are as follows:

_Entrez:_ Come in

_Mon copain_: my mate

_Bonjour,mon petit ami_: Hello,my little friend

If anyone spots any mistakes or things that they think could be better, please do tell me! Oh yes, and which characters would you like to see come into this fic? Mariam should hopefully be coming in at some point, but I'm a but clueless about anyone else, so fill me in, please!

Okay, that's all from _moi_! (me) See you all next time!


	5. Chapter 5

This chapter has been changed by an amazing ONE WORD! More specifically, a name. So, anyway, please enjoy!

* * *

Kai pushed Ray out of the way and flung himself down on the armchair, grabbing the TV remote and turning it off. Ray looked at him in bewilderment.

"What are you doing, Kai?" he asked curiously. "You okay?"

"Fine." Kai snapped. Ray bit his lip, disbelieving. They had made up for nearly two months now, but there was a slight awkwardness between the two of them that refused to go away. Still, awkwardness or not, he could tell when Kai wasn't happy.

"No, you're not."

"I'm _fine_."

"Then turn the TV back on." Kai folded his arms and acted as if he was suddenly deaf. Ray tried to figure out a different approach. There was clearly something bothering Kai, something that he was too embarrassed to talk about. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing."

"Kai..." Ray tried to catch the older boy's eye and failed. "Kai, please, come on! What's wrong?"

"Nothing!"

"Is it Lee?" Silence.

"Is it...is it your grandfather?" A different kind of silence. Thicker. Kai's gaze finally met his, his eyes dark with anger.

"No." he said at last, ending that particular avenue of conversation instantly. "Why're _you_ asking _me_? You're the one that got a phone call from Naomi yesterday." Ray shrugged nonchalantly.

"She's in rehab for the drinking, got divorced from Shane as soon as she legally could, and barely let me get a word in over the sound of her apologising. I felt sorry for her more than anything."

"Good for you." Kai muttered sarcastically. Ray sighed and gave up, switching the conversation to a lighter subject, namely school. Fifteen minutes later, Kai was starting to look a little happier. "You started doing your thing for that art competition yet?" he asked. Ray shook his head, biting his lip again.

"I can't think of anything!" he complained. "And every art lesson, she comes over and asks me how I'm doing and I have to admit that I'm not doing _anything_!" He groaned melodramatically. "I might lie next lesson, say I've got something started, just to get her off my back." Kai smirked.

"Don't worry about it. You've still got, what, a month and a half left?"

"One month, three weeks and six days." Ray muttered, fiddling with his long black hair. He winced as he found a tangle. Make that _lots_ of tangles. Kai raised a lazy eyebrow.

"When did you last brush that hay bale?" he inquired. Ray shrugged.

"Yesterday?" he offered hopefully. Kai groaned.

"Ray, when your hair is down past your shoulders you need to brush it more than once every other day! I brush mine every day!"

"Yeah, and if you take the gel out of your hair and brush it 'til it's flat, it's only about ten centimetres shorter than mine!" Ray pointed out heatedly.

"Exactly!" Ray scowled and crossed his arms stubbornly.

"I don't _like_ brushing it." he muttered sullenly. Kai got up with a grunt of annoyance and left the room. Ray settled more comfortably on the big, squashy sofa and turned the TV back on. Suddenly, something landed in his hair, heavy against his head. He jumped violently, pulling away in fear. Kai put a hand reassuringly on his shoulder.

"Calm down. If you hate brushing it, I'll just have to do it for you, won't I?" the older boy told him, the tone of his voice preventing any arguments. Ray reluctantly sat forwards, allowing Kai to sit on the arm of the chair. Reaching up, he pulled out the binding that he usually kept his hair in and let it flow over his shoulders and back. He sat still very still as Kai began brushing, his body tense.

His hair, his head specifically, was still a weak point. Directly after he had come round (or would you call it woken up?) from his coma, any attempt to touch his head at all had resulted in full-blown hysterics and sedation. Even once he was out of the hospital and living with Rachael and Jonathon, it had taken a long, long time before he could bear to let either of them near his hair. Kai had always been the only one he had trusted. Now, with the memory of Kai's clenched fist smacking into the side of his face still clear in his mind, it was taking all his restraint to stay motionless.

Without a word, Kai moved away, gripping Ray's shoulders briefly to soothe him, and leaving the room again. Moments later, Ray heard Kai's bedroom door shut upstairs. Ray blinked, and put a hand up to feel his hair. Kai couldn't possibly have done it in such a short space of time... Okay, he was wrong. It was silky smooth, falling in long, loose waves over his face and shoulders.

"Thanks, Kai," he whispered to the silent room. Wriggling back into the cushions, he concentrated on the TV again.

The bright, fire-engine red of Tyson's favourite hat caught Ray's eye as he looked around the Learning Support classroom for his two friends. He walked over and found both boys huddled in the storage cupboard. He leaned in.

"Tyson? Max? What on earth are you doing in-"

"Ssh!" Tyson hissed. "Max isn't feeling too well, so we're skipping class!" Ray snorted with laughter.

"Ty, hate to disappoint you, but this is the first place Miss is going to look!" Tyson pulled a sulky face and wriggled backwards out of the cupboard.

"Spoilsport!" he grumbled.

"Ray, Tyson, what _are _you doing in the cupboard?" Mumbling excuses and apologies, the two boys went to their seats. "Where's Max?"

"At home. He's ill." Tyson said quickly, deadpan. Ray leant over his desk as far as he could, so as to not show the teacher the grin that had spread across his face.

Ray knocked on the door and entered the classroom. A friendly-looking teacher smiled at him enquiringly.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Um…I'm here for the choir…" he mumbled nervously.

"Excellent!" The teacher's smile grew. Over the next ten minutes, around fifteen people turned up. "Well, now that we've got a few more people, let's get started!" She moved over to the piano in the corner of the room. "Okay, I'll play a scale, then everyone sing it. How many boys have we got?" Ray raised his hand, along with five others, none of whom he knew. Looking around, he was surprised to see Salima, Julia and a Year Seven who he knew quite well; Emily. They all looked at him and smiled. Salima blew him an air kiss, and the three of them dissolved into laughter as he blushed and turned away hurriedly. "Boys, if you can't sing what I'm playing, try and sing it lower, okay? I'll come and give you a hand in a minute."

Ray bit his lip as everyone prepared to sing. His voice had been getting deeper lately, and he wasn't able to reach the high notes that had made him a star in primary school.

"Good luck!" Salima whispered, giving him a flirtatious smile.

"You too," Ray whispered back, before sucking in a deep breath and singing the scale. The teacher started off too low for most of them except three of the boys, and gradually got higher. Before Ray knew it, there was just him, Salima and an older girl left singing. Ray heard his voice crack slightly as he reached for the highest note in the scales so far - a top B and instantly stopped, leaving just the two girls to go for the C, the D - the older girl dropped out - and finally, Salima's voice cracked on the top E. Everyone was silent, staring at the three of them in shock, the teacher included. Ray couldn't help but feel slightly jealous of Salima. Once, he had been able to go even higher than that.

"All right everybody, I'll read out your names and your parts. Tenors, stand over there, altos over there, counter-tenors stand with the altos, and sopranos and trebles stand over there. Got that?" Most people nodded. "Right. Ozuma, you're a tenor, Emily, alto, Julia, alto, Robbie, counter-tenor, Jim, tenor…" Ray looked around, counting silently. There were sixteen people, and five different parts. It was going to be a pretty small choir. "Hannah, Salima, sopranos, Ray, treble." Obediently, Ray went over and stood with the girls, ignoring the jeers coming his way from Jim and Ozuma. "I'll see you all next week, when we can get started." As Ray made his way towards the door, one of the altos came over to him.

"Ray Kon, right?" she asked. Ray nodded warily. The girl smiled, her large green eyes friendly. "Hi, I'm Tyson's cousin, Mariam. Just wanted to see who he's been babbling about for the past few weeks, that's all!" Ray returned her grin.

"Cool. Well, see you next week!"

"See ya!" Ray continued down to the hall.

"Hi, Kai-and-Salima-and-Julia, finished the orgy yet?" he asked playfully as he passed the three of them, receiving three glares and the finger for his troubles. Chuckling to himself, he flung himself down in his usual seat. "Hi, guys!" A chorus of "Hi!" and "Hey!" followed from the six boys. "You feeling better, Max? Tyson said you weren't feeling too good." Max nodded, blushing furiously as everyone scrutinised him carefully.

"I'm fine, thanks." he murmured, taking a small bite out of his sandwich. Ray turned to Tyson.

"Oh yeah, I just met your cousin. What's she like, then?" Tyson shrugged.

"A girl. Annoying." he mumbled around a mouthful of crisps. Ray was about to reply, but found himself being drawn into a conversation with Raul and Mystel about homework.

Ray, Mystel, Tyson and Miguel, high as kites from running away from an angry teacher, ambled arm-in-arm to the gates, singing a parody of the Spice Girl's hit "Wannabe" at the tops of their voices.

"_If you wanna be my lover, sex is 50p,_

_Condoms are just 20,_

_Blowjobs are for free_!" They burst out laughing, completely ignoring the strange looks that they were getting from the kids that they passed, and began singing again. Raul, Oliver and Max cringed in embarrassment and walked as far behind as they feasibly could.

"What did we do to deserve this?"

"_Je ne sais pas_. What've they been eating?"

"Insanity pills?" Max suggested, giggling quietly.

"Since when have any of them needed pills to make them insane?"

"Oy! Stop talking about us, you gay!" Mystel yelled over his shoulder.

"Takes one to know one!"

"Oh? Are you admitting something here?"

"Dunno. Are you?"

They split up at the gate. Tyson and Max walked home together, Miguel and Mystel walked part of the way together and Oliver and Raul got a lift with their respective parents. Ray leaned on the gate, laughing still as he waved goodbye to his friends and settled down to wait for Kai. Over the weeks, Kai had been later and later out, what with after-school detentions, after-school _fights_ and after-school make-out sessions. Urgh. And what was worse, they were all just as likely as each other to be the reason why his foster brother was - he checked his watch - fifteen minutes late.

Another fifteen minutes passed. Ray was starting to get worried. Cold too, but that didn't matter. He plucked up his courage and called to Lee, who was just coming out of the gates with Mariah.

"Hey, Lee, you seen Kai?" Lee frowned.

"You mean he's not done yet? I know he had a fight scheduled, but it can't have lasted this long… You sure he hasn't just left?" Ray shook his head vehemently.

"No, Kai knows I always wait." he explained.

"That doesn't mean he wouldn't just up and leave if he felt like it." Lee muttered darkly. The mere thought shot an arrow of doubt into Ray's chest. His thoughts must have shown on his face, because Mariah whacked her brother sharply on the arm.

"Lee! Don't be horrid!" she scolded. Lee glared at her. "I'll tell mum you had another detention!" she threatened. "You okay waiting for him?" she asked. Ray shrugged, smiling at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks." Mariah's doubtful gaze said a _lot_ about her own opinions, but she let it slide. "See you tomorrow, then?"

"Yeah, see you." Ray looked after the retreating pair and smiled dryly. It hadn't escaped him how Mariah tried to hide how much she fancied him when she was around Lee. Rumour had it that Lee was protective enough already without a possible boyfriend to complicate the situation.

Nevertheless, Lee's passing jibe had struck a chord, and five minutes later, he walked back into the school grounds and headed for the field, specifically the area where he normally found Kai.

"Ow!"

"Watch it, kid!" Ray rubbed his shoulder and glared after the gang of Year Elevens that had walked straight into him. Grumbling under his breath, he rounded the corner, his eyes sweeping the area for any sight of his foster brother. He saw him, and stopped dead. Nausea and tears welled up inside him and he fought to keep either of them from escaping.

"Kai..." he whispered, frozen to the spot in horror. One bruised eye cracked open and Kai's crumpled body shifted slightly, accidentally giving Ray a clear view of the pool of blood on the concrete. "Oh God...Kai, what happened?"

"Unfair fight." Kai muttered thickly, his face - the parts that weren't coated in dried blood - contorted in pain. Ray took a hesitant step forwards. "Won't kill you to come nearer." Ray coloured and hurried over. "Help me up." Obediently, Ray bent down and started trying to pull Kai up. Kai moaned in pain, his head lolling to one side, barely conscious. "Oh wow..." he murmured feebly. "This hurts like hell..."

"I'm not surprised!" Ray said fiercely. "Who did you fight with?"

"Gang of Year Eleven's. Ah, slow down...ouch, I think I've broken something..."

"You fought a Year _Eleven_?" Ray yelled.

"Six of them." Kai corrected him indistinctly. "Lo-long story..." Ray lurched to one side suddenly as Kai gave up any attempts at supporting himself.

"Kai, come on! How are we going to get home?" Ray demanded, tears stinging his eyes.

"Dunno...can't walk anymore...hurts too much...let go..." Kai slid down until he was lying on the concrete, his face grey with pain, gasping for air. Ray crouched down, trembling with fright.

"Kai, what hurts? _Kai_?" A faint, incoherent mumble was all he got out of the injured boy. Tears streaming down his cheeks, Ray stood up and looked helplessly around the empty field. What could he do? Kai couldn't walk, neither of them had their phones on them, and there was no-one around. "There's got to be _somebody_ left in the school..." he muttered. "Kai? I'm going to go and get help, okay?" No answer. Biting his lip, Ray headed off at a sprint, running through the school doors and searching as fast as he could.

_Please, please let Kai be okay out there...

* * *

_

Well? Review, please! If anyone wants more info on the choir bit, ask me in yuor review. 


	6. Chapter 6

This is more of a filler chapter; all of the good stuff about Kai's injuries should come next chapter. This one is short (Again! I'm so sorry! I can't seem to write more than 4 pages at the moment!) and very scatty. By that I mean it focuses on about four different characters at different times, so I apologise if it's confusing!

I was very pleased that so many of you liked the chior bit! I'm an alto myself, and I really _envy _all sopranos! Anyway, on with the fic...

Oh yes, some of you might notice a slight problem in this chapter, a bit of a mistake. Basically, I mention Brooklyn, but I've also mentioned him last chapter. I've changed that, so please forget about him being in the last chapter!

* * *

Ray hurtled through the corridor, crashing headlong into a man who suddenly came out of a classroom. Ray looked up from his position on the floor and met the eyes of his PE teacher, Mr Merion. He scrambled to his feet and grabbed the man's arm, tugging him determinedly along.

"Ray, what on earth-"

"Kai's hurt! You've got to come and help!" Ray pleaded, turning a desperate gaze on the teacher. _All_ the teachers knew Kai. Nodding, the teacher broke into a swift jog. Ray matched it, outstripping him easily and nearly skipping with agitation.

The teacher swallowed convulsively as they reached Kai's bloody, motionless form. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed bloodstains on the wall a few metres away. Bending down, he placed a hand on the boy's arm and shook it gently.

"Kai? Kai, can you hear me?" Nothing. "Kai?" He shook him again. The boy's eyelids flickered, showing the whites of his eyes, and saliva welled at the corner of his mouth. The teacher bit his lip.

"Kai?" Ray tried, his voice shaking. A faint, inarticulate moan bubbled from between Kai's lips. The teacher stood up, digging his mobile phone out of his pocket. His voice perfectly steady, he phoned for an ambulance, telling them to hurry.

* * *

Tyson peered round the door. Two adults were sitting in the room. Ray was curled up on the woman's lap, tears leaking slowly from between closed eyelids. Tyson gulped silently as the man noticed him. 

"Who are you?" Nervously, Tyson stepped further into the room.

"Um…I'm Tyson, Ray's friend from school," he mumbled then, because he could never stop talking when he needed to, he asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Jonathon, and this is Rachael. We're Ray's foster parents." Tyson nodded in understanding. Ray had mentioned that he and Kai were fostered before.

"Why are you here, Tyson?" Rachael asked curiously, shifting positions slightly. Ray mumbled something incoherently and resettled himself. Tyson shrugged.

"I came to see if Ray was okay, but it looks like the others were right." He turned to go.

"And what did the others say?" He turned back, meeting Jonathon's friendly brown eyes, and felt some of the nervousness slide away.

"They said he wouldn't want me here," He shuffled his feet and coloured, his gaze flicking to where Ray was still curled up on his foster mother's lap, oblivious to what was going on around him. "Guess they were right."

"It's nothing against you specifically," Rachael reassured him. "He's just had a bad shock, and he's still coming to terms with it." Tyson nodded, his eyes filled with worry for his friend.

"Okay. Say hi for me when he wakes up. Is Kai okay?" he asked suddenly. The adults exchanged looks.

"He's…stable." Rachael said carefully. Tyson's eyes grew huge with fear.

"Is he going to d-die?" His voice shook violently, the last word almost incoherent. Rachael shook her head vigorously.

"No!" she exclaimed. "Why would you think that?" Tears began to blur Tyson's vision as he fought against memories that he would rather forget.

"That's what t-they said to my dad before my m-mum d-died…" he whispered. Turning, he ran blindly out of the room, tears streaming down his cheeks.

* * *

Ray wasn't at school the day after that, but then, neither was Tyson. The day after, Tyson was back, but Ray wasn't. The day after that and the day after that; still no sign of Ray. None of the group had heard from him. Everyone was worried and edgy. Mystel had been given six detentions for staring out of the window in class, Tyson found it virtually impossible to settle in lessons and Max hadn't spoken a word since Tyson's absence, even after the navy-haired boy had returned. Raul was trying to stay calm as always, but even he was becoming snappish and irritable. It wasn't so much the fact that Ray wasn't there, it was the fact that no one really knew _why_ he wasn't there, other than Kai had been in a fight. 

Oliver and Miguel found themselves not paying full attention in class, a feat that everyone had thought impossible for the two teacher's pets, and having to deal with four anxious, occasionally tearful (although that was generally restricted to Max) boys at break and lunch. They kept their ears to the ground constantly, on the alert for any rumours about the fight that might have more than a grain of truth. Apparently, the only person in the whole of Year Eight who professed to knowing what had happened was Lee. Miguel was ignoring that particular rumour, as he knew for a fact that Lee had been in a detention at the time.

Oliver, however, thought differently. He was all too aware that bullies like Lee often had contacts going right up to the Sixth Form, and thought it very likely that one of them had told Lee about the fight. With that thought whirling round his head one break, he went in search of the boy. He found him on the field, smoking a cigarette. Dark golden eyes locked with his, and Lee threw the half-finished butt on the grass and ground it out with his foot, his eyes narrowing.

"What do you want?" he demanded. Oliver stared at him levelly.

"I want what you know on Kai's fight." he said simply. Lee snorted.

"Which one?" He laughed at his own joke.

"You know which one." Oliver's voice was perfectly steady, perfectly calm, but there was a definite hint of a threat in his tone. Lee smirked.

"You think you can threaten me, you fag?"

"I'm as much a fag as you are. Tell me about Kai's fight."

"Yeah, right, like I need-"

"If you don't tell me, you'll be telling the head of year."

"I won't tell him anything! He'll think you're lying!" Oliver smiled pleasantly, his eyes glittering hard ruby.

"Who are they more likely to believe, Leonard?" he asked softly, using Lee's full name for the first time. "Me?" He let his eyes drop to the crushed cigarette. "Or you?" Lee glared furiously at him, but the French boy held his ground with ease.

"Why do you care?"

"Ray is my friend, and all of us are being affected by this."

"Ha, you mean you fancy him, you twink-"

"Oh, grow up!" Lee snarled something under his breath, then relented with a show of acceptance.

"It was a bunch of Year Eleven's, and it was over a girl. They didn't want Kai feeling up one of theirs." Oliver shook his head in disbelief, not over what he had just been told, but at people's senseless cruelty to each other.

"How do you know?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him. A nasty smirk twisted Lee's mouth and he lit up another cigarette.

"Someone in the Sixth form." he said casually, blowing smoke into Oliver's face.

"Who?"

"Hiro." Oliver's mind reeled. _Tyson's older brother…oh no…_

"How?" Lee laughed, clearly relishing being in control again.

"Oh, Hiro was a very naughty little boy last year. You remember that psycho Brooklyn?" Oliver nodded reluctantly.

"He tried to blow up the school." he recalled. Lee nodded in affirmation.

"And guess who put him up to it, who twisted his mind until he thought it was a good idea?" _Hiro_, Oliver answered silently. Suddenly, his blood boiled with fury. He couldn't stand being near this sadistic thug any longer. "It's good blackmail material for when I want to know something."

"I'm so pleased for you," Oliver hissed from between clenched teeth. Turning on his heel, he walked away as quickly as he could. Behind him, Lee stared after him for a few moments, then shrugged and took another drag of nicotine. The flicker of loneliness in his eyes went unnoticed by anyone, even himself.

* * *

Oliver looked for Miguel, finding him about to go to their next class, History. 

"Miguel, I need to talk to you." he hissed, casting quick, nervous glances around the relatively empty corridor. His best friend raised a blond eyebrow in query. "I asked Lee about the fight." Miguel's expression changed instantly to seriousness and the two boys moved closer together, whispering intently.

"Ty?" Tyson looked at his best friend.

"Yeah, Max?" Max's eyes were huge with unshed tears. "What's up?"

"I wanna know why Ray isn't here, and what's up with Kai." the blond mumbled. Tyson bit his lip, his mind racing. He knew, at least, why Ray wasn't there, but not "what was up with Kai" as Max put it.

"Ray's off because he's upset." he answered Max eventually. Understand flashed instantly in the ten year-old's eyes.

"He must have seen Kai getting hurt." Max whispered, his face white. "Oh, poor, poor Ray..." Tyson hugged the younger boy tightly. "Can we go and see him?"

"We could try, I s'pose," Tyson replied cautiously, remembering his last visit. He stared at Max worriedly.

The ten year-old had been tearful and edgy for the past two weeks, long before Ray's absence. He had invited himself over Tyson's house virtually every day, and had been very reluctant to leave again. His speech had deteriorated to a few words a day, then nothing at all, and every time he moved, he winced. The movement was tiny, imperceptible to anyone who didn't know exactly what they were looking for. Even his brief, uncharacteristic flashes of anger and hyperactivity went unnoticed by nearly everyone.

Tyson noticed. He hadn't been best friends with Max for six years for nothing. He knew the signs, and dreaded them. It meant that SHE was back.

"Okay, Max, we'll go soon." he said at last. Max smiled. His blue eyes suddenly widened and he whispered,

"Teacher!" before dropping his head back to his half-done work. Tyson shrugged and ambled carelessly back to his seat. Like he cared. Merely glancing at the work, he leaned back in his chair and began tapping out an irregular rhythm with his pencil.

"Tyson, you're not concentrating. Please could you stop tapping?" the teacher asked calmly. With a disgruntled sigh, Tyson flopped back into his seat and squinted at the work with loathing.

"Don't _want_ to, miss..." he complained.

"Tyson, look at me." Grudgingly, the eleven year-old made eye contact. "I know you don't want to do the work, but it's my job to make sure that you do it. Now, please start question five. Remember, both of you can ask for help at any time."

"Yes, miss..." the two boys droned in unison. Max very deliberately turned his back on Tyson, leaving him with no distracting alternative to keep him from working. Grumbling under his breath, he stared at the worksheet. Eventually, he began to write.

* * *

Max waved goodbye to Tyson as the older boy went into his house, and began walking home. His steps slowed until he was barely moving, his mind whirling with dread and a twisted kind of hope. 

"Maybe she'll be in a good mood today," he whispered softly, longingly. "Maybe she'll love me today." The encouraging thought planted itself firmly in his mind and his steps sped up.

Nervously, he knocked on the front door. It opened, and his dad smiled down at him.

"Hi, Max. How was school?" Max smiled back in reply.

"It was okay. Ray still isn't back, though." He stepped into the house and took off his shoes as he spoke.

"Oh, really? Have those older boys been letting you and Tyson sit with them even without Ray?" Max gave him a scornful glance.

"Of course! They're cool." He leaned into his dad's reassuring body and got a hug in return. "Is Mum here?" he asked eagerly. His dad nodded, a shadow crossing his face.

"Yes, she's here. She's got a bit of a headache, though, so please be gentle, okay?" Max nodded vigorously, sending blond curls flying everywhere, and hurried into the lounge to see his mother.

She was sitting on the sofa watching television, looking as immaculate as ever. He hovered nervously in the doorway. Hearing him, she turned and smiled.

"How was your day, Maxie?" Max grinned and shrugged.

"It was okay." he muttered. "How are you? Dad said you had a headache." A frown crossed his mother's beautiful features. Max swallowed apprehensively.

"Oh he did, did he?" the woman asked coldly.

"I-I'm sure he didn't mean it, mom, he was probably just joking, you know he does that-"

"Max, please be quiet." The young boy went silent instantly. His head hurt already; he knew it would hurt much more before he went to bed.

One way or another.

"Tell you father to come in here, Max." Max hurried out, shivering with fright.

"D-Dad, Mom wants you..." he stammered. Defeat crossed his father's face and he followed his son into the lounge. He stood motionless as his wife's palm smacked into his cheek, leaving a red splodge.

_Like a paint blob_, Max thought dazedly.

"Max, do you love your father?" Max looked up at his beloved mother desperately, his eyes huge and glimmering with tears.

"Y-Yes, mom..."

"More than you love me?"

"No, mom!" He was thrown off balance as a searing pain flared in his cheek.

"Liar!" his mother hissed. Her blue eyes, identical to his, were alight with cold fury.

"Now, Judy, please, don't start on Max..." his dad pleaded weakly, recieving a sharp kick to the shins for his trouble.

"I'll do whatever I damn well want!" Judy yelled. She hit Max again, knocking him off his feet.

"Mom, please-" A kick.

"Mom, no, please, it hurts-" A punch.

"Mommy, don't hurt me!" He landed face-first on the floor, the carpet burning a red trail up his face. Tears leaked from his eyes.

"Mama...I love you..." he whispered.

* * *

I've been dropping hints about that for a _long_ time; did anyone pick up on them? Opinions, please! I can't promise anything like a quick update, but I'll try my best.

Now, got to go, missing Holby City!

Review!


	7. Chapter 7

Well, here I am again! Sorry about the long wait, writer's block and plot bunnies have been ganging up on me and threatening to halt all my fanfics, but I'm back! .

A huge, gigantic thank you to the six people who reviewed the last chapter. _**Six**_. And do you know how many the other chapters had? On average, twelve. That's a 50 decrease, people! What was wrong with the last chapter! (pulls hair out in frustration) Anyway, so, **Lady-Nikki**, **SensiblyTainted**, **crimsonbloodyvampire**, **MikaMiko**, **Kikino** and **BloOdy-JoKeR**, thank you so much, you are the reason that this chapter is here, and that I didn't just crawl into a hole somewhere and cry.

As you can pobably tell, I like reviews!

Okay, Enjoy!

* * *

Ray swung his legs backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards, watching them as if they were nothing to do with him. He tipped his head slightly to one side, straining to hear what Rachael and Sallie were saying at the other side of the room. 

"...broken ribs...cracked skull...dislocated shoulder..." He stopped listening, his stomach churning. His teeth went to a bloody gouge in his lip and began chewing with practised ease. He had watched enough television to know that Kai was seriously injured - the look on the teacher's face alone had been enough to confirm that. He didn't want to hear details, he didn't want to see anyone, he just wanted to stay here and try to convince himself that nothing was wrong.

"You okay, Ray?" He looked up. For a second, blind fear flashed through him at the burly profile and he pushed himself futilely against the wall, eyes wide. "Relax, it's just me." Jonathon sat down next to Ray and gave him a tired smile. "You okay?" he repeated. Ray nodded woodenly. He didn't want to be here, he had _been_ here for nearly six hours, he wanted to be back at home, curled under the covers, fast asleep. Not in that horrible, dream-like state that he had been in after the ambulance had come for Kai, but proper sleep, _nice_ sleep, that would help sort his head out.

"When can I go home, Jon?" he asked. Jonathon looked surprised.

"Soon, Ray, I promise. Rachael and I just need to sort some things out, okay?" Ray nodded again. Suddenly and without warning, he began crying silently. Annoyed and more than a little uneasy at the speed of the outburst, he wiped his streaming eyes and tried without success to stop. He felt Jonathon put a comforting arm around him. "It's okay, kiddo...everything's going to be okay..." Ray shifted, uncomfortable with the sheer size of the lie.

_Everything's not going to be okay_, he thought sadly, bitterly. _Not for a long, long time_.

"Jonathon?" His foster-father looked up at his wife. Ray yawned and pulled away from Jonathon's arms, blinking up at the two women he trusted more than anything in the world. Both Sallie and Rachael looked exhausted and tearful.

"What is it?" Jonathon stood up and put a soothing hand on his wife's shoulder, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.

"Kai's in a medically-induced coma." Sallie said curtly, her tone more businesslike than Ray had ever heard it before. Ray opened his mouth to scream, but then his twelve-year logic kicked in, calming him. He had been in a coma, hadn't he? And he'd woken up and been fine, just a little bit ill for a while, that was all. So, if Kai was going to do the same thing, then all he had to do was last two weeks without him. He looked in puzzlement at the miserable faces surrounding him.

"What's the matter?" he demanded. "All we need to do is wait two weeks for him to wake up!" The atmosphere thickened, the silence so thick that Ray started to feel stifled.

"Ray, sweetie, Kai…isn't exactly the same as you were." Sallie said eventually. Ray frowned.

"What do you mean? I know he's not the same as me! He's a different person!"

"His…his condition is different, too." A horrible, unwanted light began to dawn in Ray's mind.

"You mean he might stay in the coma for longer?" he asked tentatively. Rachael nodded. There was silence for a few minutes. "What's wrong with him?" Ray asked at last, his voice barely more than a frightened whisper. All three adults looked at each other nervously.

"He's broken a lot of his bones, and…and…" Rachael shook her head and buried her head in her husband's shoulder. Her shoulders shook. Ray front teeth went automatically to their newfound place on his lower lip and began chewing. Blood trickled over the young boy's chin as he stared up at the three people he had always assumed would stop him and Kai from being hurt ever again.

"You know all your medical television shows?" Jonathon asked at last, his voice hollow. Ray nodded slightly. "Do you know what a brain haemorrhage is?"

The floor dropped out from under Ray's feet. He collapsed back into his recently vacated chair and nodded dumbly.

"I-Is he going to die?" "The doctors don't think so, not unless something changes dramatically." Rachael answered, her voice trembling.

"I-Is…" Ray sank his teeth even more viciously into his lip. "Is he g-going to be b-b-b-brain-damaged?" he whispered, forcing the word out through unwilling lips. He felt light-headed. The world was spinning very slowly around him. His lip hurt. His mind was a murky, foggy mess that didn't work properly.

"There is quite a large chance of some degree of brain damage." Sallie replied, reverting to a tone that was almost brusque in a desire to keep her emotions under control. Ray blinked dazedly up at her, not understanding. "Yes, Ray. He probably will."

Ray's teeth punctured his lower lip and came out the other side. Blood streamed down his chin and into his mouth. Vaguely, he felt it stinging and lifted a hand to his mouth, staring at the blood that stained his fingertips. He imagined the same substance inside Kai's head, boring through the delicate tissue in a destructive, horrifying stream.

His eyes stretched impossibly wide and the room went horizontal, then black.

* * *

He opened his eyes. Where was he? He looked sleepily around, quickly realising that he was in his bedroom. Waking up gradually, he rubbed his eyes and swung his legs out of bed. 

"I wonder if Kai's awake yet?" he mumbled to himself. His face crumpled degree by degree as reality forced its way into his hazy mind. "Brain damage…" he whispered in a voice full of horror. As his eyes began to heat up with tears, he scrambled back into bed, so fast that the covers got hopelessly tangled around his small body, buried his head in the pillow and cried out with a horrible, high keening sound.

Time lost all relevance. Seconds seemed to stretch like hours into the distance, a distance where Kai wouldn't be the same boy that he had relied on for the past two years, the one that had rescued him from Shane and Naomi. The tidal wave of his mental pleadings, his sobs, his hysterical demands that everything should go back to normal smashed against the iron-clad coast of the truth with the force of a thousand tsunamis. Yet the huge black wall loomed above his frenzy, mocking him, telling him that nothing anyone could do would alter it. _Kai will change, and not for the better_. He cried out in incoherent Chinese, blindly flailing his arms against the bitter message before subsiding back into a stupor with a soft whimper.

Gradually, as the shock receded, optimism returned, a ray of blessed light in the menacing shadows that his mind had been filled with. Hopeful thoughts pierced the gloom, encouraging thoughts.

_Sallie did only say "probably", not definitely._

_There are different amounts of brain damage, aren't there? Kai would get a small one! He wouldn't give up like that!_

_"Tong zhou gong ji." I promised him we'd stick together, he promised me the same. He never breaks a promise, **ever**._

He blinked and opened his eyes slowly. They felt sticky and were hard to open. Once again, the first thing that came to his mind was; "Where am I?" He shifted position and found himself on Rachael's lap. It was definitely Rachael and not Sallie, because Rachael wore perfume. Also, Sallie had a bigger chest. He blushed at what he had just thought.

"Hi, Ray." He looked up at his foster mother and smiled. He winced and cried out in a mixture of pain and surprise. Rachael's face split into an answering smile. "Don't do that too often just yet, that was a nasty bite you gave yourself." Confused, Ray uncertainly raised a hand to his sore lip and felt the scab, with a tender area around it.

"Ouch." he said finally. Rachael laughed.

""Ouch" indeed!" She hugged Ray's slight frame to her for a few seconds. Ray waited patiently and then started to wriggle around. Rachael let him go. "I'm so glad you woke up at last, we were all worried… Do you feel better now?" she asked anxiously. Ray nodded, giving her a smile that was only partly forced.

"How long have I been asleep for?" he asked nervously.

"Nearly three full days." Ray's golden eyes widened.

"Wow."

"Oh, before I forget, Tyson came over the day before yesterday."

"_What?_ When? Why?" Ray demanded, jumping off Rachael's lap.

"Tyson came round the day before yesterday morning to see how you were." Rachael replied, a smile on her face at the young boy's alarm.

"What's the time? Can I go round his? Oh, and where's Jonathon?"

"Four o'clock, yes and at the hospital." Rachael reeled off the answers. Hesitating only slightly at the word "hospital," Ray nodded his thanks - smiling was far too painful to be attempted a third time - and hurried off to wash and brush his hair, which was lying in greasy, matted clumps down his back.

* * *

Feeling fully awake for the first time in a while, he closed the front door behind him and tried to remember Tyson's address. Oh damn, he didn't think he had ever found out, had he? Oh well, he was just going to have to guess. He desperately needed to talk to somebody who had no idea of what had happened over the past few days. Crossing his fingers tightly for luck, he started walking. Suddenly, when he had taken only a few steps down the path, the image of Kai lying on the ground zoomed in at him, taking up all of his vision. 

The older boy's face was twisted with pain, the parts that weren't deathly white stained gorily with the blood that dripped from his mouth, nose and ears. His clothes were half-ripped off and red marks showed where he had been hit. One ankle was twisted at an unnatural angle.

The picture changed. Now, Kai was in the ambulance, with a blanket and oxygen mask covering the worst of the damage. Without any kind of warning, his arms and legs started thrashing around in a violent seizure, his head lolling at an awkward angle. His eyes flickered open and closed, staring blindly ahead. Then nothing but black.

Ray swore as loudly as he could, his heart racing, pounding, thudding almost painfully against his ribs. What had just happened? Why had he remembered that _now_?

He no longer felt like going to see Tyson. He was shivering uncontrollably and felt jittery and scared. Nausea swirled in his stomach, dizziness swirled in his head. Gulping down air like a drowning man would water, he turned and ran back to the house as fast as he could.

Crawling under the bedcovers, he silently berated himself for his stupidity, his childishness, the immature fear of nothing. Even after a detailed self-admonishment, he couldn't bring himself to move from the warm cocoon of his duvet.

_I hope I go back to normal soon… _he thought fervently. _After all, I have school tomorrow, and everyone'll be getting worried. _

He didn't go to school "tomorrow." He got halfway down the street and baulked, those two images of his foster brother sending him running back to the house in a cold sweat of fear.

* * *

The day after that, he finally asked to see Kai. He reasoned that if he could just get the horrible pictures out of his head, he would be able to go back to school. If that meant replacing them with more images that weren't how he knew Kai, was that really so bad? Surely they wouldn't be the same kind. He would just pretend that Kai was asleep. In a way, that was what he was, wasn't it? 

Jonathon gave him the thumbs-up sign and opened the heavy, important-looking door marked I.C.U. Ray stepped inside, recoiling at the wave of hospital-smell that hit him like a punch to the face.

"_Tong zhou gong ji._"he muttered under his breath. "Don't back out now, you chicken." He went further into the huge room, shuddering every time a machine gave an extra-loud beep. Eventually, he spotted Kai's unruly bi-coloured mop of hair and headed towards the bed, relief and apprehension twisting together in his stomach like battling snakes.

He nearly screamed out loud as he saw Kai's face. Most of it was covered by an oxygen mask, but even through the mask the swollen purple-green bruises showed clearly. His head was swathed in bandages and his body was covered by a blue and white checked hospital gown and intersected by what seemed like endless wires, but there was still skin showing and every inch of it was black and blue. And green, and yellow. And some black as well. Ray stopped his mind from going off at a tangent about colours and just sat there, staring at the battered, lifeless body in front of him.

_He's alive_, he told himself firmly. _He's alive, and he's being treated. He just looks so bad because the bruises are all coming up. He will wake up. Don't know how soon, but he will_. He stayed sitting there, motionless, listening to the beep of the heart monitor, the whistle of the intubation tube, reminding himself that Kai was being helped.

He would wake up eventually. He _had _to.

"We've got to go now, Ray. Visiting hours are up." Ray stood, wincing as blood flowed back into his cramped limbs. Acting on impulse, he leaned over and whispered in Kai's ear.

"_Tong zhou gong ji_, Kai. You promised me." A sudden thought hit him, and he turned to Jonathon. "He isn't still wearing his contact lenses, is he?" he asked, wondering why Jonathon was suddenly laughing at him.

"No, he definitely isn't. The hospital would have taken them out when he was brought in, in case they damaged his eyes." his foster-father explained, chuckling. Ray nodded. He felt calm again, for the first time in days. He believed in Kai, in Kai's natural stubbornness, his inability to give up.

Kai wouldn't give up. So, neither would he.

* * *

"_Ray_!" Ray staggered backwards as Tyson dashed up to him and flung his arms around him, navy eyes shining with delight. Mystel joined him, the added weight making Ray overbalance and land on the floor with a bump. 

"Ow, get off, you two!" he demanded, pushing them unsuccessfully. Laughing, Tyson and Mystel untangled themselves and stood up, grinning like Cheshire cats. The remainder of the group came running up, identical grins on each of their faces.

"Glad to see that you're back, Ray!" Miguel said, clapping Ray on the shoulder. Raul nodded agreement, sending his messy scarlet curls flying everywhere.

"Are you all right now?" Oliver asked. Ray shrugged.

"I'm okay. Been better, been worse," he answered lightly. Suddenly, he spotted Max, who was hiding behind Miguel and Tyson. "Hi, Max! Am I really that scary?" he laughed. Max's curly head poked out and Ray sucked in a breath. "Wow. What happened to you?" Max shrugged one shoulder, his pale face gradually shading to pink under the group's combined stares.

"I fell." he mumbled.

One eye was swollen and bruised and there was a livid, raised red stripe down the left side of his face. A purple bruise protruded from underneath his regulation white polo shirt.

"You fell." Ray repeated, keeping his tone even. Max nodded earnestly.

"Down the stairs." he elaborated. Ray opened his mouth to say something else, then stopped. _You're being stupid_, he told himself firmly. _He probably did just fall down the stairs_. Yet, why did he look so edgy, if he had just fallen down the stairs? _I'll talk to him later. _

"So, what homework did I miss?" he asked.

"Maths." Raul grumbled.

"Oh, great. Just _great_." A tight ball rose in his chest for second, but he took a deep breath and swallowed it back down. Just when he thought he had it thoroughly under control, Mystel asked the fateful question.

"What's wrong with Kai?" Ray swallowed. "Is it…serious?" He nodded. "Yeah, but what _is_ it?" In that one moment, he hated Mystel more than anyone else in entire universe.

"He's in a coma." he said finally. Dead silence greeted his statement. The bell went for the beginning of school, making everyone jump. Head down, his shoulder-blade-length hair dangling in his eyes, Ray pushed past his friends and silently made his way to his form room.

* * *

"Mystel?" 

"Yeah."

"Dean?"

"Yes sir."

"Ray?

"Yes, sir." Ray mumbled. He didn't want to look up, he didn't want to catch Mystel's eye. He didn't want sympathy anymore, he just wanted to be treated normally. And there was one person whom he could always rely on to react in the same way. As the class were dismissed, he hung by the door until nearly everyone was gone. Only Mariah remained, looking sadly after the hordes of departing pupils. Ray stepped forwards, forced a smile. "Hey, Mariah can I walk with you to PE?" Mariah's face lit up and a smile spread across her cat-like features.

"Sure! Thanks a lot, Ray!" She hurried up to him, painfully eager. Ray felt a small stab of guilt enter his heart at how alone the she had looked, and how absurdly grateful she was. He had never noticed before, but she never hung around with any of the other girls. Her sole friend was Emily, and even that was more of a tolerance on both sides than a friendship, if rumour was to be believed. She wasn't in any of the school clubs, she was just always…_there_, in the background. Part of the scenery, noticeable only by her Oriental appearance and her thug brother.

"No problem." he replied as they began walking. He smiled back cautiously, wincing and putting a hand to his mouth as he stretched the scab where he had bitten straight through his lip. Mariah cocked her head curiously.

"What did you do?" she inquired. Ray shrugged.

"Bit through my lip." Mariah shuddered in sympathy.

"Ouch!" she exclaimed. Ray nodded.

"Yeah, it was a bit." Talk stalled after that, which suited Ray just fine. He glanced over at the younger and slightly shorter girl, who had the happiest expression on her face that he had ever seen. _She must really fancy me_, he thought, smirking. _Or be really lonely_. His smirk faded and he waved farewell to her as they separated to go to their changing rooms.

Damp with sweat from where he had pushed himself to his limits during the Athletics session they had done in PE, he dragged on his school polo shirt and trousers and sank down on the wooden bench, breathing heavily.

"That was hard, wasn't it?" He looked up to see Mystel staring at him, his light-blue eyes worried, and with the same look of loneliness that he had seen in Mariah's only an hour earlier. _Can we be friends again? _that look beseeched. _I'm really sorry_. Ray cast his mind back over the past few weeks.

He saw Kai run off down the path, felt his cheek throbbing painfully, felt the anger and shock and fear that had washed over him in a paralysing wave. He saw himself forgive Kai and not mean it, saw Lee's fist power into Kai's head, saw himself in the hospital, forgiving Kai and really meaning it.

He shuddered involuntarily as he remembered his foster-brother's crumpled form, remembered the blood, the way that Kai's face had twisted in agony. As if from above, from an adult's point of view, he saw himself, curled up in an insensible ball, traumatised by the knowledge that one the person he loved and trusted more than anyone else was going to change, saw himself waking, going out, unable get himself down the street without cowering away in fear. The memory of "hospital smell" burnt into his nostrils again as he remembered sitting by Kai's unresponsive side, half of him hoping for a miracle while half composing himself, resigning himself to what must be.

With a small smile, he went over to his best friend and sat down next to him, whacking him gently on the arm.

"Yep. Very hard." he replied softly. "But we can cope, can't we?" He raised his voice slightly, enough for Raul to hear, and the three boys grinned at each other.

"Of course we can!" Mystel said cheerfully. "We can cope with anything!"

* * *

Well? Opinions? Before I get people yelling at me because of the slight Ray/Mariah element in this chapter, my reply is; hello? He's a twelve year-old boy! He barely even knows what hormones are, let alone which direction they're going to take him in! He just feels sorry for her, that's all. For now. (cackles evilly)

Kai/Ray _will _come, (as if I could ever ignore it!)but it's going to be a long, _long _time yet. Be patient. .

Please review! They make me so very, very happy!


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you to **Kiyomiko**, **Black Magician Girl3**, **Duelistgirl11**, **alysei**, **BlOoDy JoKeR**, **darksaphire**, **crimsonbloodvampire**, **MikaMiko**, **Lady-Nikki**, **zekesbabe**, **Angel pen**, **Little-Purple-Pigeon**, **Kiniko**, **tntiggris**, **Holly ()**, **Aralie Panda** and **Mentallymoo**.

Phew! So many reviews! Thank you so much, everyone!! (hugs all reviwers and hands them chibi-Ray plushies)

Credit for this chapter goes not to me and my not-working imagination and the most severe case of writer's block I've ever had in my life, but to a very persistent friend and reviewer: **zekesbabe**, who has the unenviable job of MAKING me write (ie, getting me the hell off MSN!). She has made me annoyed, grateful and downright pissed off by turns, but it was all worth it! Thank you very much!! (many many many hugs)

Also, many hugs to my beta, **Shin Rigel **(dies of awe, then remembers she's not supposed to be fangirling someone she talks to regularly.)

At last, _here is the next chapter_! (cheers) I'm so so so sorry for the wait! (grovels)

Enjoy!

* * *

"How was school, Ray?" Rachael called up the stairs. 

"Boring, hard, all the normal stuff!" Ray called down, a faint tinge of sarcasm in his voice.

"Homework?"

"Yeah, Science _and_ Maths. You'd think they'd let us off, wouldn't you?"

"That's school for you, kiddo. When are you going to start it?"

"After tea. Can you or Jonathon help me?"

"Will do."

"Thanks!" Ray went into his room and flung himself full length onto his bed. There was only a week of the school year left to go until the summer holidays. _A week 'til I'm not a Year Seven anymore…_ he thought pensively. _Not a Year Seven, not a Year Eight…limbo_. _I'll be in limbo. Like Kai. _He sighed, thinking of his still unconscious foster brother. Rolling over, he reached under his bed and pulled out a small rectangle of paper: his birth certificate. The one remnant of his life in China with his real parents. Staring at the ceiling, he remembered another time when he had taken this out and looked at it, a year ago.

_"Ray! Let me in!" Putting down his birth certificate, Ray went over to his door and unlocked it. Kai stormed in, scowling._

_"What's up?" Ray asked cautiously._

_"They get _paid_!" Kai flung himself onto Ray's bed and bounced there for a few seconds, his face dark with anger. Ray blinked a few times, bewildered._

_"Huh?" he asked intelligently, sitting next to the older boy gingerly._

_"Rachael and Jonathon get _paid_ to look after us. On top of their jobs." Kai said bitterly. "We're just another job to them. Oh, let's get a couple of kids, we need the money!" He snorted loudly and kicked the bed bad-temperedly. _

_Ray started laughing uncontrollably. Kai coloured. "What are you laughing at?" he demanded._

_"You." Ray choked out. "You mean you didn't know?" Kai stayed silent. "The money's for us. They use it to take us places, and buy us birthday presents and things, like the PlayStation! If they just put it straight into their pockets, they wouldn't be allowed to be foster parents!" He dissolved into fits of laughter._

_"How do you know?" Kai mumbled sullenly, his face on fire with embarrassment. Ray calmed down and lay back on the bed._

_"Naomi told me once. She was complaining about how looking after me was a strain on their finances, even with the extra money." Kai grunted._

_"Yeah, more like her drinking was draining the finances dry!" Ray laughed softly and nodded. He sighed. "She could be all right sometimes, Naomi could. When she wasn't drunk." He thought. "Which wasn't often."_

_"How did you ever end up with them in the first place?" Ray shrugged._

_"I was a weird-looking six year-old kid who couldn't speak a word of English. They were the only ones who were prepared to take me in. It wasn't so bad at first."_

_"Really?" _

_"Really!" Ray confirmed enthusiastically. "Naomi only started drinking after about seven or eight months in. She was going through a stressful time at work, or something like that." Kai sorted again, this time in disbelief._

_"Shane?" Ray flinched._

_"He kept away from me for nearly a year. And I really mean kept away, he used to come in at the back door if I came through the front, and if we ever met he'd just act like I wasn't there." Kai frowned._

_"Weird." he pronounced finally. _

_"Very." Ray agreed._

_"Why did you go into foster care, anyway?" Ray shrugged again._

_"My dad legged it when I was four, and then when we moved to this country, my mum apparently couldn't cope with me. She got arrested for child neglect."_

_"What did she do?"_

_"I can't remember much. I vaguely remember being left alone a lot, and it was really cold, and she…I don't really remember what she looked like anymore. So, she got sent to prison for a few months and I got put into temporary foster care. But then, she tried to kill herself in prison. Starved herself until she had to be force-fed, according to what I found out afterwards. They reckoned that if she couldn't cope with prison, there was no way she could cope with me. So, that was me doing this for the rest of my childhood." Ray gestured to the room. There was a familiar tight ball in his chest that came up whenever he was talking about his parents. Which was rare enough. "What about you? I know why you ended up here, but what about your parents?" A shadow passed over Kai's face for a moment, and he looked sad._

_"Dead." he said briefly. "Mother died having me, and then Father died when I was five. Then Grandfather took me in, and the rest you know." He fiddled unconsciously with his T-shirt. "If I hadn't been born, they might still be alive. That's what Grandfather always told me."_

_"And you believed him?" Kai coloured._

_"Well, if I hadn't been born then Mother wouldn't have died, would she?" Ray found himself unable to argue with the obvious statement. Kai looked so unhappy all of a sudden, and he wanted to cheer him up._

_"I'm glad you were born." he ventured uncertainly. Kai gave him a half smile._

_"Are you?" Ray grinned back._

_"Yeah! Where would I be without you, huh?" Kai blinked in surprise as Ray leant forward and hugged him tightly._

_"Thanks, Ray." he murmured, smiling._

Letting a long, shaky sigh, Ray replaced the birth certificate under his bed and, rolling onto his back, resumed his pointless contemplation of the ceiling.

* * *

"Hey, Ray, how was choir?" Oliver asked, backtracking his steps rapidly until he drew level with his friend. Ray shrugged. 

"It was okay." he said mournfully. Oliver groaned loudly.

"Come on then, what's up?"

"I can't sing as high anymore!" Ray complained. "My voice keeps cracking, and then all the tenors and counter-tenors make fun of me!" Oliver gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

"Cheer up, Ray! I bet you're a better singer than all of them put together!" Ray coloured and shuffled his feet, embarrassed.

"Yeah…well…maybe." he mumbled at last. "At least the girls stick up for me."

"Especially Mariah?" Oliver raised both eyebrows suggestively. Ray grumbled under his breath.

"She's not even _in_ it." he mumbled. "Nah, Salima and Julia are being really nice to me, and Emily's not too bad either. Mariam's cool, too." he added, almost as an afterthought. His face fell again. "Of course, that's probably just 'cause everyone knows about Kai now…"

"How long has it been again?"

"Two months, give or take a few days." Oliver nodded slowly. "Where's everyone else?"

"Mystel has detention, Raul's staying behind in class for some unknown reason, Miguel's off in a student council meeting, and… I haven't seen Tyson or Max all day, have you?" Ray shook his head and started chewing his lip, perplexed.

"I wonder where they could be…" he muttered, almost to himself. "Tyson usually phones me if he's having a day off for some reason… and Max doesn't miss much school at all…" Suddenly, he realised that the few days of school Max _had_ missed had all been after he had supposedly fallen down the stairs. A nasty suspicion formed in his mind. Frowning, he dismissed it. He was being stupid, being influenced by what had happened to him years ago. "Come on, Oli, let's get to lunch."

"Read my mind." the older boy said amiably. "I forgot breakfast this morning." Ray whacked him playfully on the arm.

"Idiot! Why?"

"Slept in." Oliver shrugged, smiling a little guiltily.

"Idiot." Ray repeated. The two boys walked to lunch, teasing each other mischievously.

* * *

Ray's face flushed deep scarlet and he made a grab for the piece of paper. Lee grinned maliciously and jerked it up, holding it just out of the smaller boy's reach as he continued to read. 

"Catholics believe in the sanctity of fife, because it says in the bilbe that God created att things-" Ray made a last, desperate leap, and grabbed hold of the sheet of paper.

"Quit it, Lee!"

"_Quit it, Lee_!" Lee mimicked, laughing nastily. "You're such a spac, Ray! You can't even write!"

"That's not my fault!" Ray yelled, his face going even redder if that was possible.

"Yeah, like your spelling's any better, Lee?" Lee whirled, an angry, cornered expression on his face. Miguel smiled coldly, an icy flame dancing in his blue eyes.

"Remind me whose work got held up in class as example of what _not_ to do again?" Oliver demanded softly, eyes strangely vibrant with anger, the heat of his rage contrasting sharply with Miguel's frozen, simmering temper.

Despite himself, Ray backed away from his two friends, and felt no scorn for Lee as he did the same, golden eyes narrow and defensive. With a final, wordless snarl in Ray's direction, the black-haired boy walked away with what little dignity he had left. Seconds later, Mystel, Raul, Tyson and Max ran up.

"What did we miss?" Mystel asked instantly, sounding disappointed. Ray laughed, the sound only slightly forced.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side, guys." he said, turning to the two older boys with a look of mock-fear.

"Will do." Oliver replied, the sunny smile on his face a startling change from the look of mere seconds ago.

"Aaaah! He's a schizophrenic!" Tyson yelled jokingly, obviously thinking along the same lines. The boys scuffled playfully, ending, surprisingly, with Tyson getting Oliver in an arm lock and tightening his grip threateningly.

"I surrender!" Oliver cried, laughing and gasping for breath simultaneously.

"Really?" Tyson asked, loosening his grip slightly.

"Nope!" Oliver let out a strangled sound as his head was jerked backwards again. While Mystel and Raul laughed out loud and Miguel grinned widely, Ray watched Max.

The young boy was twisting his T-shirt nervously in his hands, revealing the edge of what looked like yet another bruise on his lower abdomen.

"You okay, Max?" Max jumped visibly and gave Ray a tiny smile. Instead of replying, he nodded. "You sure?" A flicker of annoyance tightened the blond's lips and he nodded again. Before Ray could probe further, or tell the others - who were now openly cheering Tyson on, even Miguel - to shut up for a second, the bell rang. The second bell; the one that you were supposed to be in class for. As in; _in_ class, not still standing in the dinner hall.

"Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiite…" Mystel grabbed Ray and Raul, one wrist each, and steamrollered off.

"Bye, guys!" the three boys yelled

"… Bye?" Miguel called, eliciting a laugh from Tyson and Oliver.. "Sometimes I think Mystel's got a screw loose…" he sighed.

"Sometimes? One screw? You're underestimating him!" Tyson declared. Oliver grinned, using the moment of distraction to shove the younger boy into the wall.

"Very funny, haha, I win! Now, you're going to get detention if you don't hurry up."

"So are you." the navy-haired boy pointed out.

"Shut up."

* * *

"Excuse me? Is Raymond Kon in this class?" The teacher nodded curtly. Ray stood and nervously took the purple slip of paper from the messenger. Sitting back down, he screwed his eyes up and tried to read the message. Mouthing the words to himself, his eyes widened. 

_Go to Reception immediately_.

Tentatively, he raised his hand.

"Miss? Mi-iss!" The teacher ignored him. Ray gritted his teeth in anger. Damn English teacher! Just because he was dyslexic! He'd been improving too! That's why he was in here instead of Success Maker, because he was working more, and the teacher had promised to help him! Ha! Fat chance of that! "_Miss!_" Giving up, he grabbed his bag and stood up. Shoving his equipment into his bag and his chair under the table with a clatter, he marched out of the room. Delighted whoops from his classmates and angry calls from the teacher followed the fuming Chinese boy down the corridor until he was out of ear-shot.

"Rachael should be coming to pick you up soon." Ray frowned. Why was nobody telling him _why_ Rachael was picking him up, _why_ he had been pulled out of class?

* * *

"What's going on?" he complained. Rachael's hands tightened slightly on the steering wheel, but she said nothing. "_Rachaeeeeeel_!" he wailed, more than prepared to sulk like a ten year-old if it would get him his way. 

"You'll find out soon, Ray."

Ten minutes later, they turned into the hospital car park. Ray sat bolt upright, eyes wide, adrenalin suddenly flooding his veins.

"Kai?" he whispered. "Is he all right? Is he awake?" A horrible thought struck him with all the force of a sledgehammer. "Is he … okay?" His mind shied away from "the d-word", as he had mentally classed it a while back.

Rachael looked at him, and he could see the faint glimmer of a smile hovering round her mouth.

* * *

Well, I think most people will get what's happened! (grins) 

I loathe and detest this chapter with a vengeance; it's short, it's badly written and nothing happens. But it _is_ pretty much just a filler.

I promise you all, the next chapter is the one I've been waiting to write pretty much since I first thought of the idea of Kai falling into a coma. I don't know when it'll be up or how long it'll be, but it'll be good.

If anyone wants any pairings that doesn't include Kai, Ray, Miguel or Oliver, just ask. The Demo. Boys'll be coming in next chap, hopefully, and I can bring anyone else in you like. And I mean _anyone._ So, ask away, the weirder they are, the more fun to write!

I apologise again for the unbelievable wait - don't kill me! (hides)

Review!


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